Surroundings
by IWasJustAnotherGuy
Summary: After entering his sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry catches a glimpse of a girl that will steal all of his attention. Wanting to have a secret of his own, he decides to keep this information to himself. At least, until everyone notices.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Surroundings**

**Chapter 1**

He had been stealing glances at her for a while now. Nothing creepy, mind you, just the casual glances a teenage boy would steal from a teenage girl. No drooling or stalker-like staring, just... glances. Besides, being in the Great Hall meant that he could do it discretely enough. No one would notice him staring. And if they did, they wouldn't know who he was looking at

He'd sit on the opposite corner to the one she did and he'd use his peripheral vision to see her outline. Sometimes, she'd be too far away, the glasses never made things easier for a guy, but there were certain "strategies" he could use to get a better view. The most successful one would be to have one of his friends, Ron (he was clueless to his surroundings when there was food in front of him), sit opposite him, but just a little bit to the side so he could see her over their shoulders. It was a flawless plan. And yet, the others had noticed something.

They had suspicions he fancied someone but they were not sure. Neville pointed out that he seemed to smile more often. Luna said that, apparently, the Nargles had left him alone (for the moment, she always added). Ginny stayed out of the whole business the moment she realized she wasn't the victim of his affections. He liked the girl, but he saw her as much as a little sister as Ron did. Hell, even Dean and Seamus seemed to notice he had eyes for a "bird" as they called her. They did nothing beyond teasing. And it was harmless teasing, it wasn't like he planned on acting on his feelings. He was merely attracted to a beautiful classmate. But then, Hermione happened. Well, to be completely honest, you could blame Katie instead of Hermione but he saw Katie as more of a catalyst and not the problem itself. It all started after a late Quidditch practice...

* * *

As they arrived to the common room, Katie commented on his recent tendency for more dangerous maneuvers on the air. She asked if he was trying to show off. He dismissed the claim with a laugh. But Hermione, who was waiting for them, chose that moment to merge into the conversation.

"I'm just sayin' those moves were pretty out of your regular comfort zone, Harry. And that's saying somethin'!" Katie laughed.

"Nothing to worry about, Katie. It's not like I'm trying to impress someone." It seemed like a common friendly response. He hoped the issue would be dropped then and there. It wasn't.

"You know," Hermione said in an inquisitive tone as she lifted herself from the closest couch "you've been pretty misty eyed lately... something we should know about? Any potential Mrs. Potter out there?" she smiled as she said that. Sadly, Harry's expression must have been similar to that of Malfoy's in front of a hippogriff because her smile dropped.

"Sweet Merlin, there actually is! Harry you have to tell me! How am I only hearing about this now?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the floor. As Ron entered through the portrait hole, Katie decided it would be best to head up to her dorm room and give some privacy to the trio. Harry was glad, he didn't need an audience for what was to come. He only needed to remain calm. Everything would be fine.

"Did you know that your best friend is risking his life to impress a girl?" Hermione asked to the surprised ginger.

"Well yeah, but his life has been at risk 24/7 for the past years so I don't see any problem with him trying to get a good snog out of it." Ron smirked. Harry didn't know whether to feel proud that Ron was paying more attention to his surroundings or bad for not sharing his secret with his best friend. Ron didn't seemed to mind so he would just feel proud for the moment.

"That's disgusting, Ronald." Hermione said with a hint of annoyance in her voice "You shouldn't try to impress someone, Harry. If they can't see how amazing you are without silly tricks then you don't need them in your life." she ended flatly.

"Excuse me, but a Wronski Feint is not a silly trick!" Ron argued before Harry could open his mouth "It's a pretty difficult maneuver and you should be proud that Harry can pull it of so that we may win the Quidditch Cup this year! Besides, she's not even in Gryffindor. He has to catch her attention somehow" Ron finished lamely. Harry was gobsmacked. Perhaps he was selling Ron's attention span really short. At seeing his friend expression, Ron argued that he had heard Dean, Seamus and Neville talk about it.

"Don't worry, mate. I was a bit worried you may have started to fancy me after you asked me to sit in front of you so often at meals and just... stared. I put two and two together and I realized you like some 'Claw or perhaps a 'Puff. I mean... I've seen Susan, if you catch my drift" he winked at Harry.

"Aaarrgh! Ronald Bilius Weasley!" Harry worried the whole castle would be awakened before Hermione was done with Ron "When are you get it through your head?! Stop being a perverted oaf! This isn't just about Harry liking a girl! It's about him not trusting us! First it was the Prince's book and now..." after hearing those words, Harry's head shot up. He couldn't believe it. He was worried his cover was blown but this was just another stupid argument about his potions book! He could hear Hermione in the background, but a silent turnmoil of thoughts plagued his mind.

He could just tell them who he fancied, it would definitely shut both of them up. But then again, it would lead to further line of questioning and he didn't need that right now. Was he really in the mood to fight with Hermione about his potions book, though? AGAIN? Mind you, Ron seemed to be on his side on this one. They could have a chance to end those arguments for good. For the snippets Harry could hear, Ron seemed to think Hermione was exaggerating. Harry just wanted to go out on a couple of dates, what's wrong with that? It had nothing to do with the book.

And it really didn't. Harry opened his mouth to speak "Okay..."

"FINE!" Hermione interrupted "Do whatever you want! But when something bad happens don't blame it on me! And ask yourself Ronald, if Harry could so easily lie about whatever girl caught his fancy, what stops him from keeping more secrets from us?" with that, she turned to Harry "Harry, please. You need us, now more than ever. Just... Just think about this, okay?" And with that she left for the girl's dorm rooms. Harry could swear he heard her sniff a couple of times. He turned to face a silent Ron.

"You... You wouldn't do that would you, mate? Keep secrets from us?" asked Ron, almost pleadingly "I know that through our friendship I may not have always been the best out of the three of us but you do know that I'm here for you. The both of you." And Harry knew. He knew that no matter what, Ron would have his back as much as Hermione would. They may fall or they may stumble, but they would always back him up. "Hermione is just a little stressed, you know. I believe..."

Whatever Ron was about to say was cut by the words that came out of Harry's mouth.

"She's blonde." Harry realized that was the second sentence he had spoken since he entered the Gryffindor Tower. "She has blue eyes too. I saw a glimpse of her on the train a month back. You guys were at the prefect's meeting and I was looking for a compartment. Listen, Ron, I know it's not much but please understand. I don't even know if I like her, she's just attractive." Harry said looking down at the stone floor. He realized he had never spoken to the girl. Where was all that "Gryffindor Bravery" whenever he passed her on the halls? Or whenever he saw her at meals or near the lake?

A small pat on the back made him look up "Don't worry, mate. Well take this one at a time. Who knows? Maybe I could set you two up" Ron said as he led the two of them to the sixth year boy's dorm room. Harry could do nothing but laugh at that statement. "What?!" Ron answered with mocked hurt "Anyways, is she..." he said as he made strange signs with his hands "...you know?" he finished with a small grin.

"Well, she does have a nice arse..." was all Harry said before he realized Dean, Seamus and Neville were pretty much awake and wanted to hear all about this nice arse he and Ron seemed to be talking about.

* * *

A week rolled by and it all seemed to come back to reality. It was a Monday morning when Harry found himself going down for to the Entrance Hall, the rest of the guys would still be at their beds but he fashioned a little bit of fresh air on his face before breakfast: it wouldn't hurt. He noticed Hermione when he entered the Great Hall a couple of minutes later and decided to approach her. From afar, Harry could see that Hermione looked a little bit put out now that Harry and the rest of the sixth year Gryffindor boys seemed to have grown closer and he and Ron spent less of their free time with her. She had friends, obviously, but they weren't her best friends like he and Ron were.

"I know we haven't talked like we used to in a while, and it is probably my fault for being a prat, but you do know you are my best friend right?" Harry said as he sat across Hermione, leaving plenty of space to observe the rest of the house tables "That fight the other night, let's just forget about it okay?"

She kept looking at her food but Harry could see a little smile through the madness that her hair was. He decided to take a leap of faith. His hand crossed the table and grabbed hers. She looked at his eyes with a faint blush on her cheeks "Besides, who is gonna help me with my Transfiguration homework?" The blush was gone and she gave a smack to the hand holding hers. "Idiot" was all she could say before the both of them chuckled softly. A pleasant silence grew between the two of them as Hermione finished her breakfast and Harry started his. She decided to accompany him by doing a little bit of reading on her Runes book. Everything was going fine until the victim of his stolen glances decided to enter the Great Hall and have herself some breakfast.

He, obviously, stared as she moved from the door to her designated table. He could have swore he saw her smile as if she had noticed his stare but then, it was probably his teenage stupidity speaking and trying to coerce him into speaking to her already. He turned his mind back to his breakfast before anyone noticed. Hogwarts' students seemed to have a late start this morning, thought Harry. He was already done and Ron and Neville, usually the first at the table, were just entering the hall. Each of them sat beside Harry and said their greetings while grumbling something about cold water and Seamus waking them up. Harry and Hermione decided to wait for them as they had Charms together that morning.

Five minutes went by and Harry was bored out of his mind. Hermione tried to make small talk with him about Runes as they waited but he wasn't in the mood for it, something which seemed to irritate her. Last year, she had tried to get their interest on the subject but Ron and him were years behind on the theory and did not understand a thing beyond the names of the runes and some of their uses. Harry appreciated the thought, especially after how shaky things had been between them, but having a one-way conversation was not on his plans right now. Perhaps he should be more thoughtful. Yeah, they were best friends but they had just made up after a fight. Either way, Hermione gave up. She went back to reading about Aard signs, runes with the power of thrusting telekinetically if Harry was not mistaken. Ron and Neville were concentrated on their respective dishes so he chose to spy on an innocent young woman. Before long, he realized his mistake. Hermione may have given up on talking to him, but not on Ron or Neville.

* * *

Hermione looked up to Ron to politely ask him to swallow his meal as silent as possible because she was trying to understand the power of the Quen rune when she saw Harry staring deeply into her. And he was smiling. Now, Hermione had never had any romantic interest on one of her boys... Okay, she did. Third and fourth year respectively. But she had outgrown that, they were just her best friends. Her boys. And one said boy was looking at her very deeply. As if only the two of them were the only beings on Earth. And she couldn't help it. She felt all the blood go to her head. Perhaps that's why Harry had been so distant lately. She gathered all of her Gryffindor courage, looked into those emerald eyes and reached for Harry's hand. She never thought she'd do something like this and even less with Harry Potter, her best friend. But as her fingers touched the back of his hand, his eyes moved by a millimeter to fix on hers. And that's when it clicked.

What had Ron said? 'He kept staring at him' or something like that, right? Ron thought Harry had even started to fancy him! Oh, what a fool she had been! How stupid of her to even dare to hope. It's not like she wanted to anyway, but perhaps a little bit of broom cupboard exploring with someone whom she trusted her life to wouldn't have been so bad. With a sigh she moved her back away from his and into her lap. But not before looking back to where Harry was looking at. Maybe if he promised to giver that stupid potions book she could help set him up with Susan Bones. That's who Ron had said, wasn't she?

* * *

As Hermione turned her head to verify where her best friend's gaze had been just a moment ago, as Harry knew she would, his train of thought led to a single word: "Shit."

"Harry, why are you staring at Daphne Greengrass?" said an irritated Hermione as she turned her gaze back to him.

The next few seconds would have been worthy of a picture. Harry covered his face with both of his hands as he tried to make himself invisible. Ron started gagging on his fifth sausage; Neville spilled pumpkin juice all over his robes and Hermione's Runes book. Ginny, who was coming to sit with them, did a one-eighty and left instantly. Surprisingly, Hermione kept her composure and folded her arms as Seamus and Dean both sat beside hear and said at the same time: "Nice arse indeed."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**A/N: I greatly appreciate all of your reviews. This is my first story so I gladly accept any input you have to offer. Thanks to the folks at DLP for their brutal honesty. On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

"In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have said that," said Dean as he rubbed his shoulder. A bruise would probably appear on it in a couple of hours. Hermione, even with her small hands, packed a nasty punch.

"No, you really shouldn't! At least, not in front of me. I don't really care how you talk about girls but, please, don't do it like that when I'm sitting beside you," Hermione ended with a hint of defeat. Seamus kept laughing but was silenced by one of Hermione's nasty glares.

"You know… I think you're all missing the point here!" Ron had controlled himself and had not gone on a speech about the low worth of the Slytherins. He had spoken with a calm tone. A tone Harry did not like at all. The calm before the storm.

The rest of the group, minus a Hermione who kept stabbing her sandwich with a fork, seemed to find it amusing though. For the past week, there hadn't been a typical outburst from Ron. It had all been a little bit too quiet for the boys.

"Oh! And what is the point, Ron?" asked Seamus with a hint of mischief in his voice as he whirled the cup of pumpkin juice on his hand.

Harry did not like the way this conversation seemed to be going and decided to put a stop to it. He stood up and started: "Well… Flitwick won't let us in if we arrive late! Let's all get going th—"

Harry's voice died out as a strong hand on his shoulder sat him down again. The force of the impact shook the plates on the table. "Oh, no! We are going to discuss this, Harry!" said Ron defiantly with his brow furrowed.

Harry gulped. He could swear he saw Daphne Greengrass smiling at him out of the corner of his eyes. The thought made him go weak in the knees and the protest he had for Ron died on his lips. Ron took it as a chance to continue speaking.

"As you all know, Greengrass is a snake!" Ron started, looking everyone in the eyes. In all honesty, it reminded Harry of a drill sergeant he had seen once on the telly without the Dursleys noticing he was there. A collective gasp came out of the boys as if a life-long mystery had been unveiled. It was fair to say that even when Ron had been noticing more things in his surroundings, the sarcasm when undetected. Perhaps he was just in too deep to care about it.

"So what?" asked an annoyed Hermione. The glare she threw in Ron's direction could have made a troll hesitate. She seemed to have put her thoughts on place and decided to join the conversation.

She really needed to vent some of her frustration, thought Harry, and Ron appeared to be the perfect target. "So what?! So what?! Hermione, you're the brightest witch of our age! Can't you see it?" yelled Ron flapping his arms around.

Harry had to give Hermione some credit, the compliment did make her blush but she stood her ground. She was ready to confront the force that was Ron Weasley's argument.

"No. I cannot. So explain yourself, Ron."

A sigh could be heard come out of Neville's mouth. They boy had reconsidered his desire for one of the typical arguments between Harry Potter's best friends. He had never really wanted one, he was just as bored as anyone can be so early in the morning.

'Here we go' thought Harry as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

Surprisingly, it was not the typical "All the Slytherins are evil traitors that hate us!" argument that came out of Ron's mouth.

"Well they're supposed to be cunning, aren't they?" that had almost sounded like a compliment. If you asked Ron the day after he would probably deny it, but he had almost complimented a Slytherin. "But as we all know they are all stupid," he said in a matter-of-fact way closing his eyes with a pleasant expression on his face.

So much for house unity, thought Harry as he blinked while looking at his ginger friend. 'It's not like I like them much either, though. Greengrass is the exception. And even then, I just like how she looks. For all intents and purposes she could be a Gryffindor-loathing Slytherin.'

"Ronald! Don't—" started Hermione with a hand on her hips, before being interrupted by a grinning Ron. "Let me finish," he said in a hiss. "Oh, she thought we would be very stupid. She thought we wouldn't notice. But we did!" a triumphant tone could be distinguished on Ron's voice.

"Uh… We did?" asked a confused Dean. He didn't considered himself as smart as Hermione, or a majority of the Ravenclaw students, but he had taken Arithmacy and still could not see how things added up from Ron's perspective.

"Of course! Harry's been given a love potion!" It seemed pretty obvious to Ron that that could be the only answer to the puzzle of why Harry Potter liked Daphne Greengrass.

"No. I haven't," Harry replied instantly. Not angry or upset, just instantly. He replied so quickly that not even Seamus or Hermione could laugh at Ron's accusation. Their reasons would have been awfully distinct, but they would have led to the same action.

"That's the potion talking, mate! Don't worry, I'm sure Slughorn can fix you up with some antidote for it!" Ron said with a wave of his hand. He looked deeply into Harry's eyes, as if searching for some sort of clue.

"What happened to all that 'He just wants a few dates, Hermione' 'He just wants to snog someone', huh Ron?" asked Hermione, her hands white as snow for the sheer intensity from which she seemed to hold on to her eating utensils. A hint of sadness could be heard in those words.

"Besides, didn't Harry said he liked her since he saw her at the train?" asked Neville. He quickly covered his mouth with spoonful of porridge after seeing Ron's disapproving glare.

"Oh please, don't take her side too!" sighed Ron. As he was about to respond to the question, Harry started talking.

"Ron. I really don't like the way this conversation seems to be going so I'm just gonna leave for class. Finish your breakfast and we'll talk about this after Charms, when you've cooled yourself down. You're my best friend so do me a favor and, please, contemplate the possibility that not all Slytherins are like Malfoy or that we don't even know her. Even better, contemplate the idea that perhaps I just want to get her inside a broom cupboard and snog the daylights out of her. Who knows, I may even go talk to her after dinner!"

Harry stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, not looking back.

He was so concentrated on possible arguments to use and explain to his friend that he actually fancied Daphne that he didn't notice a female figure staring at him from the Slytherin table.

Harry Potter could be very dim sometimes. He had been thinking of ways to get the girl's attention when in that same instant, the girl was trying to get his.

A sigh escaped out of the girl's lips as she watched the retreating form of Harry Potter slip through the doors.

* * *

For a couple of minutes, the silence that reigned the little corner of the table in which the young Gryffindors sat was deafening. They all appeared to be at a loss for words. Hermione eyes followed Harry before steadying on the Slytherin table. Neville sighed and kept playing with his food, as if the argument had stolen his will to eat. On the other hand, Dean and Seamus were not preoccupied. They knew everything would be alright by the time they reach their dorm room so they kept enjoying their breakfast in silence.

"Not hungry." Those were the words that would come out of Ronald Weasley's mouth before he stood up and left in a hurry.

Ron walked out of the hall, fist clenched and looking at the ground. He may have overreacted a little. But it was within reason!

This whole 'I fancy a Slytherin!' business seemed a bit fishy. There had to be some sort of ploy at hand! She was a Slytherin, for Merlin's sake! Always trying to make Gryffindors look bad. Always plotting to make them loose House Points. He'd just have to make the rest of them see it.

Yeah, the Greengrass snake was, for lack of a better word, alluring and Harry could actually just like the way she looked but he knew it wasn't like that. It all seemed too… sudden. Why couldn't they see it? It was that simple!

However, he had to consider the worst-case scenario. His best friend could really just like this Greengrass girl and he'd have to accept it. It didn't mean he wouldn't be weary or that he'd give his blessing the moment they held hands. She'd have to earn his trust. He'd keep 'constant vigilance' on the girl! He had made a promise to always have Harry's back and he intended on keeping it. He wouldn't let Harry down again.

Hell, he was already pairing them up too! Perhaps Harry wasn't the only one that needed to snog a girl. The fact that Harry's love life, or lack thereof, was an argument between them said a lot about how stressed out they'd all been lately. The looming threat of a Wizarding War could push everyone over the edge.

A sudden thought made him stop and grin like a fool. 'Who knows, maybe Greengrass has a friend.' The grin disappeared after Ron reminded himself that all her friends would probably be snakes. He hated himself for even having a ghost of the idea on his mind. 'Why couldn't Harry be normal and just pick a 'Puff?'

* * *

"Still the coward, huh?" said Tracey Davies, a slender and fair-skinned girl with short black hair that barely came down to her shoulders. She didn't say it with a hint of malice but with one of desperation.

"Don't call him that," Daphne retorted in a whisper that sounded like a threat.

"I'm talking about you!" argued Tracey as she accusingly pointed her fork to her.

"I'm sorry? Me?! I keep smiling at him!" Daphne snapped indignantly. Several heads turned to stare at her after the outburst but she chose to simply ignore them for the time being.

"Daphne, I don't give a crap who you fancy. We'll get out of this place in 2 years and it won't matter what house someone was in. So I'm going to ask you something and I want you to be truthful with me." Said Blaise Zabini, a dark skinned sixth year Slytherin boy, very slowly. "Did you even open your mouth to speak and try to get his attention?"

Daphne could not answer.

"Exactly," was all Blaise could say to the blonde. His demeanor had not changed at all as he had spoken. He kept a calculating look, as if evaluating multiple choices and their possible outcomes, at all times.

"You know, there are times when I don't care about this whole stealing glances thing you and Potter have, it's even been kind of funny in a way, but then I remember… you two don't even have a thing!" said Tracey after seeing her best friend's failed attempts at approaching The Boy Who Lived. The way her left eye twitched was an indication that the whole situation irritated her.

"Why don't you just get it over with and drag him to some empty classroom?" sighed Tracey.

"It's not like I haven't thought about it," Tracey raised an eyebrow at the comment, her eyes wide open. "Just to talk! Don't think I'd do anything else," said Daphne in a high pitched tone, "but he is a boy AND a Gryffindor! He should be the one doing the talking! Besides, I'm not really interested in him. He's average at best. If he acted with a little bit more confidence, who knows? I may even give him a shot. I'm sure it would totally infuriate Draco. But he keeps cowering and stealing glances when he thinks I don't see him. If my smiles don´t encourage him enough, I don't know what will. So, until he actually walks up to me, I'm not going to grab him and kiss him all over in an unused classroom," she finished with her regular voice. 'Maybe I should, though. That'd definitely get his attention,' she smirked at thought.

"Well, you've hear the stories. The Philosopher's Stone, the rumors about the Chamber of Secrets, the whole thing with the Dementors on third year and even the Triwizard Tournament. If I were Potter, I'd be pretty paranoid myself. He may even think you slipped him a love potion for some sort of sick plot or something!" chuckled Blaise.

"Oh please! As If I needed to," mocked Daphne. 'I must have sounded as arrogant as Draco for the glare Tracey sent my way, but I've seen the way other people look at me. Besides, all those stupid guys I've had to decline lately are getting on my nerves,' she thought as she considered using hexes to keep the boys away whenever they tried to get close enough to talk.

It's not like Daphne didn't appreciate the attention. She was just tired of all the innuendos and flirting some of the boys actually said to her. But Potter… Potter was different.

"Granger's been staring at us for the past couple of minutes, you know? And she is a smart one. I bet she already put two and two together," said Blaise, breaking the silence that had formed between them and bringing Daphne out of her thoughts.

"And what is 'two and two', dear Blaise?" asked Tracey, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Well, it's obvious! Our little Daphne here is infatuated with Gryffindor's Golden Boy, the one Harry Potter!" he responded with a smirk.

"I bet Granger's just jealous of all this attention Potter seems to be spending on you. You've heard what they say about the two of them. I honestly feel sorry for Weasley, always being a third wheel and all that," said Tracey.

"What makes you think Potter isn't the odd one out?" snapped Daphne with a furrowed brow.

"Oh? Feisty, aren't we?" laughed Blaise as he noticed Daphne's tone.

"I'm not infatuated. He just… intrigues me," Daphne finished lamely thinking she should punch each of her friends for laughing at the situation.

As Tracey and Blaise finished their respective breakfasts, she closed her eyes and began thinking of the first time she'd notice him 'stealing glances' at her.

* * *

It had been a nice week… until Friday, that is. Their teachers didn't seem to care about their lives outside of the classroom apparently.

A couple of weeks had passed since the start of term and they were all already bombarded with homework. Professor Snape's essay about the effects that prolonged exposure to Dementors could have in a human's mind and Professor Babbling's project with the Quen sign, a protective rune, on an inanimate object where, respectively, taking most out of Tracey and Daphne's Friday night.

"You done with Transfiguration? Can I see your notes?" asked Tracey as she fiddle the edges of the parchment in front of her. They'd been in the same spot in the library for three hours. She was getting restless. Daphne did not even glanced up when she handed her the notes on the Avis spell. But Tracey did. And she saw the outline of someone in the closest stand that moved a little bit too fast when she looked up. She may be imagining things, three straight hours doing homework in the library could do that to a girl, but then again, she was sitting next to Daphne. Daphne Greengrass. Daphne-I'm-Too-Nice-To-Be-Mean-To-Those-That-Show-Interest-In-me Greengrass. Oh, Tracey knew her best friend. She knew Daphne genuinely was a nice person. Beyond all the heart-break she inflicted on teenage boys, there was a really nice girl on a sea of idiots. But the two of them where Slytherin, so she thought Daphne only kept the poor blokes around in case she ever needed something out of them. A bit harsh, but love makes us do silly things. Infatuation even more.

No. That outline was definitely one of Daphne's many admirers and not an innocent bystander. "I think there's another one coming," whispered Tracey.

"Another what?" asked Daphne without even looking up. She was too enthralled by her homework.

After seeing the outline not approaching and simple standing there, Tracey shook her head. "Oh, never mind. I thought I saw another admirer of yours but I think I was just ima—" whatever the brunette was about to say was cut as she saw the face of the person near the stand. And he most definitely was looking at the table the two Slytherin girls were sharing. It was only for a minute but Tracey saw the scar. Now, she'd like to think Potter hadn't become one of those stalker-like boys. It wasn't his style.

Apparently he hadn't. He checked out a book from the stands and left the room entirely. 'He must have come for a book, seen Daphne and stared at her for a bit,' thought Tracey. But as he retreated, the brunette didn't have to look back to be sure he kept throwing glances at her best friend.

"You were just what?" asked Daphne as she looked up to stare at her friend.

Tracey wasn't annoyed for being stuck in the library anymore. She actually wore a tight-lipped smile on her face.

"Oi! Why are you smiling like that?" asked Daphne. Tracey's smile had peaked her interest.

"Finally found yourself a boy to look at, huh?" Tracey snorted as Daphne spoke and looked around, searching for an imaginary boy.

"Oh, no no no. This is about you! You'd never guess who just passed us by and could not stop staring at you!" Daphne groaned and closed her eyes in resignation.

"Is it that Smith guy from Hufflepuff again?" she asked, as she put her forehead on the tables, "I already told him that I don't like him at all. And I don't say that often. If he keeps... ," her muffled ramblings were interrupted by two words and the laughter that escaped from Tracey's voice.

"It's Potter."

* * *

Daphne had to be honest with herself, she had never really paid The Boy Who Lived enough attention at school. After the incident at the library though, things changed. She remembered Potter had occasionally left a door opened for her to enter a classroom or he had passed her at the halls one time or another during the years. And yet, she had never really noticed him entirely. Besides all the stories the Daily Prophet printed about him, Daphne didn't know a thing about the boy beyond the fabled tale of how he got the lightning bolt-like scar.

His apparent attraction intrigued her. Why now and not before? She didn't expect to understand the mind of the average teenage wizard so she'd have to let it slide for now. Although Potter wasn't average in any sense of the word, she reminded herself.

He wasn't that bad of a looker, so that was a plus. But did she really need to alienate herself from her classmates by giving him a chance?

'What am I thinking?! He just stared at me! He is not asking me out on a date or anything. He must have seen me at the train or something. He'll forget about me in a week,' Daphne assured herself.

She was wrong.

After that night, Daphne started noticing him. She realized that what Tracey said was true, he did seem to glance at her more than the usual. Daphne was almost sure he had seen him try to approach her a couple of times but nothing had come out of it. Perhaps it was her imagination.

On one occasion, a week back, her eyes had fixed on his as she smiled. They were in the Great Hall and there would be plenty of opportunity for Potter to make his move. 'That ought to give him a hint. If he wants to try and talk, I won't bite. Although I obviously won't be the one walking up to him. I don't need Draco and his goons rambling about loyalty. Draco would be the one doing the talking though. Greg and Vincent would just stand there as the mindless drones they were.' Daphne thought. But it seemed that Harry Potter was not all 'Gryffindor Bravado', he had not come up to her then or after lunch.

'Perhaps he didn't notice. I can again tomorrow,' and so, the so called "thing" that Tracey had referred to earlier had started.

At first, Daphne told herself she only did it out of amusement at the antics Potter got up to and not out of interest of the boy. These days, however, she wasn't so sure. His lack of confidence irritated her. Why couldn't he just walk up to her and say something along the lines of: 'Hi. I'm Harry Potter'? Or whatever he had said to Chang. Of course, she wouldn't be like that tart. She had self-respect. Crying in the middle of a date? Really? Even worse, going out on a date while you are mourning the death of an ex and said date being with the only witness at the scene? No. She'd make Potter work for it. If he ever had the guts!

"We should go. Defense starts in a couple of minutes," the words brought Daphne out of the mess that were her thoughts. Blaise was right, they only had enough to make it in time. Professor Snape always arrived 5 minutes earlier. They left the Great Hall right behind the sixth year Gryffindors and Daphne was sure that Granger kept turning around just to stare at her.

'Maybe Tracey was right. Maybe she is actually jealous,' thought Daphne as their paths led them to different corners of the castle. Somehow, the thought made her smile.

* * *

'Okay, Ron. Here is how it is—" started Harry, ready for the imminent confrontation.

"I know how it is," interrupted Ron in a low voice, as if ashamed of his actions.

He had waited until the rest of the class left to have this talk. Hermione wanted to be there but Seamus, Neville and Dean told her to not worry and go to her Runes class. They could handle it. Still not entirely convinced but with a tight schedule, she left. The Runes classroom was a fair distance away from the Charms one and she had to make it there on time.

The four boys stood in a deserted hallway on the first floor. They hadn't move more than ten paces beyond their assigned Charms classroom and had been silent when they stopped to have this talk.

"Wooo! Calm down, mate! Let Harry finish a sentence, will you?" exclaimed Seamus as he patted Ron's back. Harry appreciated the gesture but he could handle this on his own. Ron was his best friend, they could talk things through.

"Uh... thank you, Seamus," said Harry, "look Ron, I didn't really pay attention to class because of this. And in no way am I mad, but you're going to get me Hermione's notes for this, okay?" he laughed and that seemed to ease the tension a bit. Ron smiled and was about to talk when Harry cut him off.

"But here's what I've thought: I like Daphne Greengrass, or at least what I can see..." were the rehearsed words that came out of Harry Potter's mouth. He heard Dean whisper to Neville: "'It is all about that arse, I'm telling you."

Harry continued with his argument pretending that Daphne Greengrass arse was not a point he had considered "and I plan on getting to know her better. It's taking me sometime to realize it but I don't care that she's a Slytherin, at least, until I get to really know her. She is an enigma. Now, this is not the trashy dialogue you'd hear from one of Lavender's novels but the truth. Think about it, has she ever been on Malfoy's clique? Has she been there when they've tried to make us miserable?" Ron's thoughtful expression made Harry proceed. "She hasn't mate. She's always been at the edges of the picture, not the center. We pass her on the halls and we say nothing to her or Davies or Zabini or even Nott. Something that doesn't happen with Malfoy and Parkinson. I don't doubt Greengrass is in Salazar's House but remember that Peter Pettigrew was a member of House Gryffindor."

Harry didn't expect to sound as harsh as he had, but the silence that reigned the hallway made him think he may have gone too far. He had explained to the rest of the boys that Sirius Black had been his godfather and that it was Peter who had betrayed his parents. He felt it needed to be said so that he could speak freely about Sirius now that they seemed to hang around more often. As the silence grew longer, Harry began to fiddle with his robes.

"Harry, I know," began Ron. His stance was that of a calm man. A man that planned on standing his ground.

"Like I said to you before, I'm just watching your back. This whole business with Greengrass looks like a potential set up, but I can contemplate the idea that it isn't," disbelief was palpable on Harry's face, "I can see you just liking Greengrass and her… assets."

Harry didn't know whether to laugh or hug Ron. He opted to remain silent until he had finished speaking his thoughts.

"But it doesn't mean that I'll completely agree with it. If you decide to talk to her and something even comes out of it, I'll be civil. I'll not be my common self. But I'll be watching your back. I can't say that I'll trust her. I can't say that I won't be weary of her or her friends. What I can say is that, as your best friend, it is my duty to make sure you don't pick the wrong girl," Ron finished, starring into Harry's eyes

Harry was really touched by Ron's words. Even when the Slytherin hate had been noticeable, the morning outburst had been because he cared about Harry's well-being. He seemed so… mature. Of course, you could obviously hear that Ron was not okay with the idea. But the fact that he'd seemed to accept it showed Harry how much his friend had grown since he had first met him.

"I… wow, Ron. Thank you," was all Harry could say before Seamus stood between the two friends interrupted him.

"You make it sound as if Harry is going to marry her tomorrow, Ron! But now, as you ladies have cleared out your drama, there are more pressing matters."

"What do you mean?" asked a concerned Neville as he moved closer. Had they forgotten to make an essay for Snape? Was Peeves around, ready to pull a prank on them?

"It's obvious, Neville! Now we set the love birds up!" exclaimed Seamus as he led the way to their next destination, leaving the boys behind.

A couple of firsties passed them as they made their way to Gryffindor Tower. They seemed to be so interest on their own conversation that Harry didn't mind speaking his thoughts out loud.

"Set me up? Please, I can do this! I'll just walk up to her and… you know, say hi?" to say that Harry's tone had change from the beginning to the end of that sentence was an understatement.

"Like you've done for the past two weeks?"

"Well… I… You know…. I've been busy."

"No, you haven't. That's why we need a plan. Well you need a plan, but we'll help!

Now, obviously, we can't use Ron. We don't want any more drama in the table. That draws our numbers short, but it's still doable," Harry thought that Seamus was putting a lot of thought to this 'plan'.

The paintings around them seemed to have noticed some sort of plot was brewing and wanted to be on the loop. They followed them as far much as they could. Luckily, it was nothing more than five steps.

"I'll take care of Davies, enthrall her with my typical charm," a snort came out of Ron's mouth but Seamus chose to ignore it. "Dean, you'll take care of Zabini."

"Are you implying something?" said Dean as he stopped in the middle of the stairs.

"Well, the two of you have a lot in common," said Seamus confidently.

"I'm a muggleborn Gryffindor and he is a pure-blooded Slytherin. What do we have in common?"

"Ahh what I meant was that…" Seamus kept moving his right hand in circles as if it would make an argument magically appear out of thin air. Who knows? Maybe it could.

"Oh, I know what you mean. And that's why I'm just messing with you. Whatever, I'll keep him busy while Harry makes his move," Seamus expression of someone that looked constipated disappeared with the sigh relief that came out of his mouth.

"What am I gonna do?" asked Neville, wanting to be involved. Gone, although not entirely, was the shy Gryffindor to leave place for an older more mature Longbottom that his parents would be proud of. Even if it was just to get Harry into a broom cupboard with some girl.

"Neville! You'll be our look out! Ron can help too! You have to find the perfect moment for the whole plan to unfold, got it?" wass all Seamus could say.

And like that, it all seemed to be set on stone. And Harry did not like that. He'd have to find a way to talk to the Slytherin blonde before any of this could happen. His friends seemed too focused on this plan, as if they were trying to live through Harry. The thought of being manipulated by someone so close to him made him shudder.

* * *

That night, at dinner, it was the moment everything began.

After the catastrophe that their breakfast had been, the quietness of their dinner made Harry and his friends feel glad. It wasn't like there was an awkward silence at their spot on the table. There seemed to be too much laughs, McGonagall watched them with a thin-lip expression.

Harry glanced freely at Daphne and was even encouraged by his friends. That is to say, there were some exceptions.

Ron simply ignored the situation for the moment. He was acting as his normal self but perhaps that'd change when Harry actually did something regarding the Slytherin blonde.

Ginny was little hurt but she seemed to be enjoying the evening so Harry thought it was not that big of a deal.

Hermione was a different matter. She kept trying to derail the subject from Daphne to other topics whenever it came up. She'd try to talk about Arithmacy with Dean or about Charms with the rest. It looked as if she wasn't okay with the whole thing. 'Perhaps her train of thought was similar to that of Ron's?' Harry puzzled.

Could Hermione think that Harry was under some kind of charm? Or perhaps she'd try to blame it on his potions book again? Harry didn't really thought it was the latter. But for the way his friend had been acting since they had breakfast, Harry couldn't be too sure about anything regarding her. Hermione must have been just worried about him choosing a fitting girl. For a second he'd thought she'd been trying to set him up with Ginny or even Luna. But the way she reacted whenever his name and Daphne's were said together was… off.

Harry couldn't put more thought into it because at that moment Neville stealthy poked his ribs. Harry turned and saw that Neville was discretely pointing to the Slytherin table with his eyebrows. A table from which a certain blonde was getting up from. All this thinking about Hermione made him forget that there was a plan in motion. Harry felt dread as he expected for Neville to signal the others. But Neville did nothing more than smile at him and get back to his food.

Harry would have to find a way to pay Neville back. 'Perhaps a Herbology book?'

Harry said he was no longer hungry and that he's see them all at the Common Room. He stood up and walked out of the Great Hall as quickly as he could. No one at the tables seemed to pay much attention to the retreating forms of Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass.

There was a plan in motion. Harry's plan.

* * *

As Harry walked with a spring on his step, Hermione's sigh was softer than a whisper. Her thoughts were a bundle of small moments and conversations she'd had over the years with her best friend.

Said boy had been ogling Greengrass from across the Hall. All throughout dinner.

Something hot and horrid burned in her chest. She didn't feel that hungry anymore.

Her fingers twitched: all she would need to do is go after him; grab him from the shoulders; pull him into a soul-searing kiss; run her fingers through those messy locks of his and then she'd-

"Uh, Hermione?"

She opened her eyes and closed her mouth, Ginny was looking at her, her brow furrowed.

"You okay? You've been staring off into space for the last couple of minutes."

"Of course I'm fine!" snapped the bushy haired girl in a louder tone than what she had expected.

* * *

"Daphne!" yelled a voice just loud enough to not be heard beyond the Entrance Hall but she didn't feel like turning around. If they wanted to talk to her, they'd try to keep up with her as she made her way to the dungeons.

"Hey, uuhh… Greengrass!" Daphne Greengrass heard the voice call her name from just behind her back as she was about to make for the dungeons.

It was a voice Daphne had not realized she'd been expecting to hear. She turned around and the deep blue of her eyes met the emerald green on his in the fire lit Entrance Hall. It was a quiet encounter even when most of Hogwarts population found itself on the adjacent room.

A soft autumn wind blew her hair into her face but she quickly tucked it behind her ears. She stared at him a couple of seconds with a blank expression before responding.

"Yes, Potter?"

* * *

And Harry was at a loss for words. He knew she was stunning but being this close to her made him question Fleur's attractiveness.

Eyes that told mysterious adventures. Long lashes that seemed to curl up a bit. Eyebrows that where just a little bit too thick. A scar in the shape of Europe on the left side of her neck. A beauty mark on her right cheek. Full, red lips and a small nose. All of this accompanied by the ash grey of her hair. She was far from perfect. She was beautiful.

Harry stood speechless for a fraction of a second before answering.

"I… I just wanted to say hi," said Harry, furious with himself for how stupid that sentence had been. He hoped that his feelings had not reflected on his face.

"Hello." answered Daphne in a neutral tone.

"Also… well, it's our sixth year and we've never really talked to each other in all of that time. So, I wondered if it wouldn't bother you if I accompanied you every now an then when I see you at the library. We could study, do some homework and maybe chat for a bit. You know, get to know each other."

'Nothing too forward, just two friends hanging at the library. Smooth, Potter,' thought Harry with a smug smile.

A couple of seconds had passed and Daphne had not answered.

Her silence made him want to crumble. He had heard her speak once and now he didn't want her to stop. He wanted to be drowned by her words.

She was taking her time to answer. As if the question had stunned her. Harry hoped he had said the right thing, he didn't know what he'd do if she said no. The silence seemed to go on forever. He decided he'd just say he was sorry for bothering her and get it all over with.

"I—"

"Y—"

"I'm sorry, Daphne. Please, go ahead," replied Harry after they both tried to speak, motioning for her to continue. He felt his hands trembling. He balled them into fists before casually moving them behind his back to avoid her noticing how nervous he actually was.

"As I was saying; I think that I'd like that, Potter," said Daphne as a small smile made its way to her lips. "You can sit with me if you see me at the library."

"I will. And you can call me Harry, Daphne," Harry couldn't suppress the grin on his face.

"We'll see about that, Potter," she turned around and left for the dungeons.

* * *

A couple of minutes would pass and Harry would be found sitting on the cold stone floor of the Entrance Hall looking down and smiling like a fool.

"Harry!"

Harry looked up to find himself face to face with Luna Lovegood. The fifth year Ravenclaw seem surprised at what she was seeing. Had she seen her talking with Daphne just a few moments ago? Did his smile made him look that stupid?

"Yes, Luna?" Asked Harry wanting to know what seemed to have made Luna yell his name.

"Your Nargle infestation hasn't come back! Did you make yourself a protective necklace like mine?!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: Hello, everyone! I am glad you are liking the story. I'm going back to college in a couple of days so I'm not sure when I'll be able to update. That does not mean the story won't be updated. It just means the wait will be longer than a week. To compensate this, chapters will be getting bigger. I appreciate all of your reviews! And don't worry, there won't be angst in this story. Or, at least, not too much beyond what's expected from teenagers.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Harry found himself carrying an armload of books that kept getting bigger and bigger as he followed Hermione through the library. His current situation wasn't new to him, he often offered to help his friend whenever he felt the book load was too much for her. Sometimes it even was too much for him. However, for the last 3 days he had been doing it daily and so, his balance was getting better. He even claimed he had a little bit of a Divination gift and could sense incoming obstacles.

There wasn't much for him to trip with though, the library was deserted.

Besides Madam Prince and the two sixth year Gryffindors, few people seemed to be around. The stands were full with unread books and there were barely any tables used. A pleasant silence reigned the corner in which Hermione was leading Harry to. A secluded table with a nice view towards the door, a place he had picked.

Harry let the books fall with care in a neat stack and, in mock, whipped his forehead for Hermione to see. Harry laughed at her giggle. He positioned himself on his usual spot, a spot with a nice view of the entrance, as he flipped open a book and whispered to his contents.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

* * *

Being honest with herself, Hermione hadn't been her usual self lately. She often stared at Harry with a lost look and a lopsided smile. Dreams of the endless possibilities running through her head. The only reason Harry didn't notice was because he was so concentrated on his new found interest in Ancient Runes to see her staring at him.

He had cornered her a couple of days before, grabbing and pulling her from their group of friends. Hermione could barely stand, a sudden feeling running through her body. She shivered at his touch. But he had only asked about Ancient Runes and the possibility of accompanying Hermione if she ever wanted to get some Runes reading. She had given him a hug after agreeing, knowing he'd noticed the femininity of her body, blushing at her own forwardness. A couple of startled students fled the hallway at the sound of Harry Potter screaming. They did not know it was because of a sudden attack from the muggleborn witch.

She had lied to herself before, saying she didn't felt anything for the boy. He was her best friend, of course she would feel attracted to him on time or another. It wasn't that big of a deal. It was all platonic. But she had been wrong, she could now see it clear as day.

They had been friends for a long time, a friendship built through years of camaraderie and inside jokes and faith and extraordinary situations. They were honest with each other. They shared experiences on their early life, common roots. They shared an understanding in a world where no one understands the way the other person does. They balanced each other out. Things were fine, weren't they?

Why should she rush it? Harry had not even mentioned Greengrass in a long time. Perhaps it was over. Perhaps the timing was on Hermione's side this time. But, what if it wasn't? Could she live contented with glances and fleeting touches forever? Could she live thinking that it could have gone that way? Live with the ghost of what could have been?

Hermione's hand twitched as she considered her course of action. She took the choice and set a plan in motion that could change things forever. She'd hold his hand. If not a confession in itself, she could give his friend a little hint of what her feelings where. Her fingers moved in the direction of Harry's.

Hermione felt a thrill of something that was beyond excitement, more like fear. Now that their hands were so near, she wondered whether she wanted to follow through with this after all. They were in opposite corners of the small table but she knew the two of them would stare into each other's eyes. She'd smile. The thought gave her to will to continue.

Could the two of them get lost in their own little corner of the castle? Could Ron do their Prefect rounds all by himself? He could even bring the rest of the boys. Hermione wouldn't care if they fooled around with Peeves and trashed the Great Hall if it meant her fantasies came true.

With self-control, her hand tried to reach for Harry's.

Harry's head snapped up from his reading material, an estrange twinkle in his eyes. In a heartbeat, Hermione changed the direction her hand was going so it would have seemed she was reaching for a piece of parchment.

How could he have noticed? Hermione blushed furiously at the gaze her friend was giving her before looking away. Her head turned to her left as if looking for a new book among the nearest stand when, on the corner of her eyes, she saw a figure with shoulder length dark brown hair entering the room.

* * *

"I'm telling you, he's been– " Tracey's high pitched voice was cut short with one of Madame Prince's well placed glares. "Sorry about that."

Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis made their way to the nearest table. There were few students on the silent library but Daphne only had eyes for one. A sixth year Gryffindor with crazy charcoal black hair and emerald green eyes. For a moment she even forgot that Tracey was speaking quite fast into her ear.

"As I was saying," Tracey started in a whisper, "he's been here for the last three days!"

At first, Tracey had been reluctant on helping Daphne on whatever she had planned concerning Potter. Yet, her friend knew what buttons to push and she had agreed to help as Daphne hugged her. It was a simple plan after all.

For the last three days, Tracey had been coming to the library for a little bit of "studying." She came in; picked a table with view of the rest; pretended to read a book and waited. It was a tiring process. Until Potter arrived, she'd often loose herself observing the dust particles on the air. And he always did. He would come with Granger and would always be looking around as if in search of something or someone. Tracey could do nothing but smirk at the scenes she admired.

Every one of those days, Potter was enthralled by one of the books picked form a big stack he carried to the table he usually shared with Granger. He would sporadically look up and search around the room. However, he would return to his reading. Disappointed was written all over his face after not finding what he seemed to be looking for. It was during this moments that Tracey would notice Granger's sudden head movements.

If things went according to plan, Daphne would start talking with Potter and perhaps things would pick up from there. No matter how annoyed by her she could be, Tracey felt bad for the muggleborn bookworm. Unaccredited love must be a bitch.

* * *

"Mischief managed," whispered the boy without glancing to his map.

Harry could do nothing to hide the smile that crept all the way to his face. He was looking at Daphne and she was smiling at him. Well, it looked like a smile. Beggars can't be choosers.

A second later, something brought him out of his thoughts. He remembered Hermione was with him. A sudden feeling of shame crept over him. His smile faltered.

Harry had forgotten to tell Hermione why he was so interested on Runes and being in the Library as of late. After Luna had found him on the Entrance Hall that night, he decided he should prepare himself. He'd need to have multiple conversation topics that he could use with a certain Slytherin girl. Through research, asking Lavender what classes the Slytherins as a whole took, he discovered which topics he'd have to shine on. If everything else failed, he could at least talk about a class he did not take and, maybe, impress her.

"Hermione, there's something important I must tell you," were the words heard as Harry's eyes moved from Greengrass face to Hermione's.

"I haven't been completely honest with you for the last couple of days," Harry stuttered as she noticed certain blonde staring at him, "and you need to know the truth."

"Wha… What do you mean Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Well, there's a reason why I asked for your help with Runes."

"Be... Because it peaked your interest, right?"

"Well, of course," Harry's pause was longer than what he expected, "but I… well, I just wanted to get closer to—"

Hermione's slight intake of breathe went unnoticed by Harry. She was looking into his eyes, blushing, as if looking for his soul.

"—Daphne. I heard she takes Runes as well and I wanted to impress her, you know?"

Hermione's mouth opened up, as if she were about to retort, but no sound came out of it. After realizing what she must look like, she closed it. Her fist touched her upper lip with carefulness. She closed her eyes and sighed. All the blood had drained from her face.

"You aren't mad, are you?" asked Harry. "I know I didn't tell you about it. But it was because I did not want to worry you. And I know we are best friends and I know you think that I don't trust you as much as I used to but," he took both of her hands in his, "Hermione, you are my best friend. I will never not trust you. Do you hear me? I will never not trust you."

Hermione's eyes were glue to their locked hands. After a few seconds, she removed them from their joint position, put them on her lap and, without looking up, spoke in a low, calm tone.

"I know that Harry. I know that we're friends," the word burned her throat, "I just…. forget it, just go. You'll tell me about it later," she gave him the brightest smile she could muster, making sure her cheeks covered most of her face.

"Thanks, Hermione! Could you pick up the map for me? It's on the book I was reading. You're the best."

And as Harry Potter reached the table occupied by Daphne Greengrass, he couldn't see there was a bushy-haired girl choking back sobs on an old library table, looking down towards her book, blaming herself for being so blind.

* * *

"Well, I'm gonna go. Good luck, Amata!" a rich laugh came out of Tracey's mouth as she left her vacant place besides Daphne and walked out of the library, not looking back.

Daphne back stepped her focus on Potter to look at the retreating form of her friend.

"I didn't know you had a middle name," came a deep voice from behind Daphne, "should I call you that?"

"It's not my middle name," Daphne motioned for Harry to sit in the chair Tracey had just vacated, "it's from one of The Tales, remember? The Fountain of Fair Fortune?" a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Uhh, the what?" asked Harry shyly as one of his hands moved behind his head. Daphne had been staring at him with a slight smile, but now one of her eyebrows had raised as if not believing what she had just heard.

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard," Daphne told at him. After seeing his lost expression she couldn't help but ask, "How can't you don't know about them? Every little kid hears them before going to bed."

"Ah… bedtime stories, didn't have much of those growing up. Even then, I'm pretty sure Cinderella is better known."

"Cindewhat? Is that even a word?" laughed Daphne, but after seeing the unmoving form of Harry Potter, she continued, "Potter, sit! Are you planning to have our first conversation while looking down at me? Is that some sort of metaphor or are you just planning to catch a glimpse of something?" she ended with a fake outrage before giving him a smile.

"Uhh… yes, sorry about that," after realizing what he had just said, and seeing Daphne's perplexed face, he tried to fix the situation, "no! No! I mean yes, yes I'll sit down."

Harry walked towards the chair, trying to flatten his hair as much as he could without Daphne noticing. He sat and turned to his right, prepared to have his first actual conversation with Daphne Greengrass.

"So, Potter, tell me about this Cinderella. How can you claim it is more famous than a tale from Beedle the Bard and why have I never heard of something like that?" Daphne said as she cocked her head to the side.

"I actually don't know, Daphne. Perhaps it's because you're a pureblood," Harry scratched the side of his head as he spoke.

"I'm sorry?! Are you implying something about my heritage?!" Madam Prince stern look stopped Daphne's rant as she was about to poke Harry in the chest.

"I meant no disrespect," Harry started quickly after realizing his mistake, his hands motioning for Daphne to stop, "I have nothing against purebloods, Ron's a pureblood why would I be friends with one and hate them?"

"Draco's a pureblood," Harry had no compelling argument against that. At least one that did not include Voldemort, so he decided to stay quiet for the moment.

Five seconds would pass before Daphne snorted and laughed.

"Such innocence, Potter! You should have seen the way your whole demeanor changed! Gryffindor's Golden Boy scared of an innocent Slytherin Girl that is not even holding her wand!" Daphne said while controlling herself. However after seeing Harry's awkward expression she continued, "Heavens, Potter. I'm sorry, I was just playing with you. Explain what that cindething is."

The whole reason that Harry's demeanor had changed was not Daphne's accusation. He wasn't the most confident guy regarding woman, but he wasn't a fiasco. No, it was the thought about the prophecy. The whole reason he was famous. The whole reason he was sitting where he was. But he could not let Daphne know any of that. He started his explanation of the Grimm's famous story.

"Well, first of all it's not an 'it.' She's a she. Cinderella. She's a princess. Although the name of the tale IS Cinderella, there's even a movie based on the original story, of course I've never seen it but I know it exists," said Harry as he balanced on his chair.

"Movies are the things muggles do that are like our pictures, right?"

"How do you..." Harry stopped balancing and turned towards Daphne, "anyways, yes. There is one about Cinderella. It's the clichés, you know? Evil step-mother, girl meets the prince and there's a happy ending. All the things that come with a love story. I'm not gonna go into specifics," He stopped. Not sure what else to say but wanting to keep the conversation going, he asked: "But now, tell me who this Beedle person was."

"Well, he was a famous writer. I don't know if he intended for his stories to be considered children's stories but because of their nature they are considered as such. They mostly teach kids moral lesson or how muggles are just misguided and not lesser beings."

_Bet Malfoy didn't get those stories while he grew up_, thought Harry.

"As much as discussing traditional wizarding folklore amuses me Potter, let's talk about something else. Like Quidditch or what you want to do on Friday or…" after realizing what she had just said, she quickly added, "Friday by yourself, of course."

Harry had to laugh at what Daphne had just implied. He had not even seen her words in the light she thought he did. The thought amused Harry though, perhaps she had some of those thoughts herself.

"What's so funny, Potter?" she raise one eyebrow at him.

Harry thanked his luck that Daphne had mentioned Quidditch or he would have been lost. He asked about that while crossing his arms over the table.

"What? Just because I'm a girl does not mean I'm not interested on it," replied Daphne with a wave of her hand.

"And are you?" asked Harry without hiding the excitement in his voice.

"Not really," Daphne noticed Harry's smile falter for a bit before she continued, "I mean, I like flying," the smile came up again, "and I enjoy watching a good game every once in a while. I'm just not really into the whole sports thing," she ended with a shrug.

"Then why did you bring it up?"

"Well, you play. I guessed you liked it," said Daphne giving him a look as if questioning his ability to keep a conversation going.

"I do, I just I don't know it—" whatever Harry was about to say was cut short by Daphne's words.

"That's the point of this, isn't it? Talk to each other, get to know one another? Keep things going…?" Daphne's next words died on her lips. Her eyes look for Harry's as she gave him a small awkward smile.

"Yeah, it is," Harry answered the unasked question. They both stared at each other, not noticing the slight blush on each of their faces or the girl that ran towards the doors as fast as she could.

Harry decided that as pleasant as the silence was, he wanted to know more about Daphne. Without wasting a second more, he continued their conversation.

"Well, I love flying too. But what else do you enjoy doing?" _a simple question that could have us talking for days_, thought Harry.

"Well, I…"

* * *

Perhaps their conversation did not last days, but it did last a couple of hours. Their talk had led the two of them to know more about each other. Daphne had wanted to ask him about all those funny rumors going around about him but she knew it wasn't the time. As much as she liked knowing that Harry enjoyed flying because it made him feel entirely free, she also wanted to know what was in Slytherin's secret chamber.

They didn't ask questions that were too personal either. There was no mention of ex's or the like, just simple facts about the other. Anyways, it's not like Potter was snogging girls left and right. Besides Chang, he had not dated anyone else to Daphne's knowledge. There _was _Granger, but the fact that Potter had ditched the muggleborn witch for her gave Daphne the knowledge there was nothing brewing there. At least from Potter's side of the affair.

The summers, however, brought endless possibilities of muggle love interests for Harry Potter. He had told Daphne that he'd lived with his muggle relatives for all of his life. The thought of Harry Potter fooling around with a different muggle girl every year woke an uneasy feeling on the depths of Daphne's mind.

As the two teens walked towards the Slytherin Common Room, Harry couldn't help but feel happy. Of course, Voldemort wanted to kill him and it scared the living hell out of him. He might die in a couple of years. He might spend the rest of his life training with Professor Dumbledore, Remus, Mad-Eye and the like. He might even live on the run, but walking besides a beautiful girl gave a little bit of hope to the teenage boy.

They reached a zone of the dungeons that Harry considered familiar. He knew it was time for him to leave. Every step he took brought him closer to a possible encounter with Snape he did not want to have. He might claim he had used the Imperius Curse on Daphne and give him detention for the rest of the year. But he could not help but walk besides her. Even her silence made him feel on ease with himself. They reached a corner and, before turning, Daphne stopped. Harry noticed immediately and turned towards her, ready to ask if something was wrong. He opened his mouth when Daphne beat him to the act.

"It was nice talking to you, Potter," she leaned against the wall at that.

"It was nice talking to you too, Greengrass."

"No Daphne?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"No Harry?" asked Harry as she repeated her actions.

Both of them were leaning against the wall but where closer than an arm's length of each other. Harry was taller by about a head, so his head was slightly tilted towards the ground. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, until Harry looked away, blushing.

"I see. Well, I'll see you around, Potter."

"There is no perhaps?" Harry asked at the figure that was straightening her robes.

During their talk, they had discussed the things that annoyed one another. Harry had said how much he hated people that saw him only as "The Chosen One." He was just a regular boy, he'd say. Something Daphne couldn't help but disagree; however, she kept that information to herself. It was during that talk that Daphne said how a certain Hufflepuff annoyed her to no end.

Zacarias Smith, Harry had a strange expression on his face at the mention of the name, often asked Daphne out on dates or 'study sessions' and she was getting tired of saying no to the guy. She told Harry how, just last week, she said answered to one of his advances. Instead of answering with a simple no and walking away, she'd said that perhaps they could do some reading together. After the incident, she had not been cornered by the boy again. It seemed that he did not want to lose the possibility he thought he had. Hope had kept him away. And Daphne was glad for it.

"No, Potter. There is no perhaps this time," she walked past him and did not look back.

Even under the robes, Harry noticed a rhythmical swaying. He was glad Daphne Greengrass did not look back.

* * *

Back on his dorm room, Harry was getting ready for bed. He was thinking of a certain blonde that had took his breathe away.

After making sure Daphne had safely entered her Common Room, he had darted for Gryffindor's one as fast as he could. He was almost caught by Filch and Mrs. Norris, but his Seeker reflexes made him turn towards the other direction just at the last second. It had been an hour after curfew before he was sure he had lost them and could make for his bed. Luckily, he had no other pursuers that night.

After changing into his pajamas, Dudley's hand me downs, he remembered something he had heard earlier that day. He looked around to see if any of the boys were awake. They had, surprisingly, gone to bed early. Even Ron. Something that surprised Harry. Regularly, after their rounds, Hermione would make Ron do some reading on whatever subject he was behind. Had Hermione done her rounds alone?

After his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see that Neville seemed to be fooling around with a levitating cauldron cake. Harry was conflicted. He needed to get Neville's attention without waking Dean or Seamus. Ron was not an issue though, he slept like a log. After much consideration, he got an idea.

"_Accio_ Cauldron Cake," whispered Harry.

Neville's reaction was not the one he expected. The boy quickly pointed his wand in the direction the cake had gone, ready to fire a spell. He realized it had only been Harry, sighed and lowered his wand.

"Nightmares, Harry?" asked Neville in a whisper. Neville knew about night terrors more than the rest of the boys, perhaps even more than Harry himself. That must have been the reason he had been awake.

"Not exactly. I had a doubt and thought that you could answer it," even in the dark, Harry could see Neville's smile. The idea of being needed gave Neville a rush of happiness. Their conversation continued in a whisper.

"Anything you need, Harry."

"You were raised by your grandmother, right?" before giving Neville a second to answer, Harry continued. He did not want to remember Neville the reason such circumstances had to be, "You ever heard of The Fountain of Fortuna Mayor or something?"

"The Fountain of Fair Fortune, you mean?"

Harry nodded in the dark.

"Well it is a wizarding story," said Neville.

"And is there an Amata in that story?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, she is one of the sisters that go with the knight on his quest," after realizing Harry must have been lost, Neville added, "oh yeah, you don't know. Well, there's a muggle knight that is in search of a fountain. Amata is the one that marries him in the end, I believe."

Neville could not see Harry's full smile, but he did hear him speak, "Thank you, Neville. That helped me out a lot."

With that, Harry closed the curtains from his four poster bed and left Neville in the dark, with lots of questions. Mainly, what had Harry done with is cauldron cake. A couple of seconds later, said cake hit him in the face.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_The runes were etched across the cobble floor. They formed crisscrossed patterns of colored light all over the endless room. Red, green, blue and many colors more. At the center of it all, a girl. An ashen haired blonde with pale skin colored by the light of the runes etched all around her. _

_Harry Potter was not sure for how long he had been staring. For a moment, it fell as if years had passed when only mere seconds had done so. Harry ´s palms sweated and it felt as if the beating of his heart couldn't go faster for the girl turned towards him. He stretched his hand towards her and she was there, standing right in front of him. She held his hand as he flinched back. He looked down into her eyes and saw. Her eyes were made out of stars._

_The pattern unraveled right in front of him. He could see what was, what could have been, what would never be. Him, praying the word of some forgotten god. Voldemort sitting in a throne made out of wands. Dumbledore crying on a cell while he stared at a mirrored wall. Hermione on a hospital, ready to operate on a child. And him again, kneeling on a destroyed Great Hall clutching something so hard, his hands bled. It made no sense. And at the same time it made all the sense in the world. _

"_If I knew I'd keep you entertained that way I would have taken you to the Astronomy Tower, Potter," a voice said behind him._

_Harry's eyes focused as his pulse slowed down. There were no runes or stared eyed girls. The only stars he could see where those visible beyond the stained glass of the library. Was he dreaming? He had never fallen asleep while standing but stranger things had happened. _

"_Oy, Chosen One, are you gonna turn around or what?"_

_With a shake of his head, Harry turned as he sighed. _

"_Daphne, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not—" Harry stopped short after contemplating what was in front of him. His hands covered his mouth. He moved them with every attempt at speaking but they returned to their initial position when no words where uttered._

"_You're naked," said Harry after his virgin-teenage-paralysis had passed._

"_I know," said a one-brow-raised Daphne "and so are you. The ritual demands it."_

_As Harry stared down into his body, a jet stream of water emerged from the ground, going straight towards his face._

* * *

A swift, stream of water connected with Harry's face, waking him. With quick reflexes, he pointed his wand, kept under his pillow, on the general direction from which the water came and yelled: "Expelliermus!"

"Woah, easy there mate!" yelled Seamus as his wand flew away from his grasp.

The wand flew by Harry's hand as he failed to catch it. He had just woken up and felt the weight of the world lift from his shoulders. '_What…?' _was all Harry could think before Seamus kept talking.

"It's getting late, Harry, if we don't hurry we'll lose breakfast. Get a move on!" said Seamus as he recovered his wand and quickly dried charmed his clothes.

Harry heard him mutter something about unloyal friends under his breath but there was something scratching at the back of his mind. _'Is it a memory?'_ Harr's mind races. He thinks it is a memory but he is not quite sure. It's an annoying sensation, like having the world at what you think is your reach just for your fingertips to push it away from you. The more he tried to remember, the more he lost. _'A dream maybe?'_

"Hey, lover boy! You'll miss your girlfriend if we don't get there fast!" yelled Seamus while he clapped his hands. He leaned on the doorframe, looking outside as if to give Harry some privacy. Privacy was something the curtains could give Harry but sometimes even Seamus forgot the resources they had at hand in a magic school. Harry quickly got into his school robes and moved pasts Seamus, down the stairs and towards the Gryffindor common room.

"She's not my girlfriend, Seamus," a hand gesture for every word out of Harry's mouth.

"Not yet, she isn't. But if what I hear is right, she will be. Most of the girls at school are really disappointed by the recent developments, Harry."

Katie Bell said from the ornamented chair by the fireplace. Harry stopped on his tracks, surprised by her presence. Seamus slightly shoved him out of the way and kept on going until he reached Katie's side.

"See, we told you they'll notice," said Seamus shrugging his shoulders as a smile spread across his face

"How could we not? He barely leaves the library now, and when he does it is besides that Greengrass girl. I'm telling you, half of the 'Claws are thinking of how to get inside your inner circle or something to try and pry you away of those Slytherin claws. Well, not claws. Fangs, maybe? You get the point, right?"

"Just the 'Claws?" Harry was surprised by the words that left his mouth. By the moment he realized he spoke without filter, Seamus was already smirking at him as Katie looked him up and down, a lopsided smile on her face.

"Don't let the whole Chosen One thing go to your head, Harry! Besides, the 'Puffs are too loyal to backstab like that. Also, us Gryffindors know you'll see the light one day," she finished with a wink and a blowed kiss in Harry's direction.

Harry blushed and looked at his feet as he made his way towards the exit door. No matter how old he got or how many girlfriends he had, Katie Bell's flirting would always give him a stop. 'This all come back to that time Fred and George tricked me into the girl's locker room. Really hope I don't have to see a shrink about that someday,' Harry thought as he opened the portrait door.

"Remember, practice tomorrow Katie. I want to know how the new team can handle the weather," Harry said as he left the common room. He could hear her complain about it being Hogsmade weekend and wanting to go to a snowy Hogsmade before Seamus walked out.

"So you're not only interested in Slytherins are you? You gotta leave something for us mortals, oh Imperial Chosen One" said Seamus trying not to show his smile.

Harry knew that he should keep his mouth shut for the rest of the morning or the rest of his friends wouldn't let him live this down. Hell, maybe even Luna would try a move on him. So he just gave Seamus two middle fingered salutes as he led the way towards breakfast.

* * *

"You do know almost all of the girls from other houses, and the firsties from ours, are staring at you, right?" asked Tracey.

"Yeah, so? Am I supposed to grow a couple of horns and start dancing naked under the pale moonlight?" Daphne responded with a blank stare as her knuckles turned white for the grip on her utensils..

"Well its ten o'clock so I'm not so sure about the moonlight thing," was Blaise's response from the opposite side of the table. The dark skinned boy seemed to be the only other Slytherin in their year that did not care about her activities with Potter. Sure, Pansy and Millie were still Daphne's friends but she noticed their looks. As if expecting for Daphne to tell them a secret. 'Well, there is no secret so they better grow up and start acting like they used to,' thought the blonde Slytherin as she toyed with her food.

"Oy, you don't have to go and get all attitudy with me, Miss Greengrass! I'm just saying you should be prepared for this apparent popularity you are getting because of your boyfriend!" Tracey´s last words were heavily dripped in sarcasm. She knew how much Daphne had wanted for Potter to ask her out on Hogsmade weekend. She would have obviously said no, as it is too soon, but the thought would have counted.

"He is not my boyfriend!" Said Daphne, gulping a spoon full of porridge.

Daphne knew it was stupid to grieve after common teenager stuff in the possible wake of a wizarding war but Daphne knew Harry Potter was not a stupid thing to worry about. The boy had far more secrets than those rumoured by the students. He was a mystery wrapped in an enigma. The Prophet slandered and praised him at the flick of a wand and he seemed to be Dumbledore's favourite student. And he was quite a looker. Daphne blushed as she remembered Potter's reveal of stealing glances at her whenever they were studying together.

"Well, well, well, would you look at that? I should have totally taken Divination. The Boy Who Was Promised has decided to grace the mere peasants of Hogwarts by arriving late for breakfast. So charming!"

"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he wants to," Daphne replied instantly.

"What was that?" Laughed Blaise.

"Just—" paused Daphne, as she smiled and played with her hair " just something Potter said once."

"Oh look at you, you are already quoting him!" Tracey turned towards Daphne, hands clasped together and making doey eyes at her. Slowly, she leaned in towards Daphne's face.

Daphne felt the stares from the rest of the Slytherins. She knew what Tracey was trying to do. Rumours had always flown about how she and Tracey spent more time together than it was naturally possible between friends. Daphne couldn't care less and it helped to keep some of the boys at bay so she let it flow. But Potter was staring right at her. She started sweating and knew she had to do something.

Taking a deep breath, she slid away from Tracey and waved at Potter. A small smile formed on her lips as she looked down at her porridge._'That should do. He know I never say hi to anyone besides my friends,'_ Daphne thought. But suddenly, doubt crept in _'But what if he thinks I only want him as a friend? Should I do something more? I—'_ Daphne's brainstorming was cut short by a pair of hands in between her and her food. A fair skinned hand.

"Did we just brake up?" Tracey said as she sniffed and covered her eyes. Her voice breaking and lips quivering.

"Hogwarts really needs a drama club," muttered Blaise as he sighed and closed his eyes.

"This is not a joke, Blaise! She just slid away from me! I was about to whisper sweet nothings on her ears," at this, Tracey closed her eyes and looked away "and she did it for Potter."

"Yeah. And you knows who gives a shit?" Blaise clearly made a pause for dramatic effect. He put both of his palms on the table, looked at the two of them and whispered: "Not me."

_'And he says Tracey is the drama queen,'_thought Daphne.

"Whatever Mommyissues, Daphne needs to get herself a good snog in Hogsmade tomorrow and you are gonna get it for her—" Tracey's words were cut short because Blaise had the perfect retort.

"So you are offering yourself? Great! Tomorrow we'll go to The Three Broomsticks. Be ready. I'm out." Blaise stood and straightened his ties before looking at the rest of the table, a snarl on his face, and leaving. To say a couple of first year students were shoved out of their ways would be an understatement.

"You know he just had it with you and wanted to leave, right?" asked Daphne, looking Tracey up and down.

"Of course I did. Besides, no one's been trying to get into this sweet robes of mine since last year so I'll leave all the romance stuff to you," Tracey said with a wave of her hand. She picked a sausage and bit it in half, staring at a fourth year Ravenclaw straight in the face.

"Gee, I wonder why," said Daphne as she looked away, towards the Gryffindor table. Potter was staring at her. Her pulse quickened, her pupils probably dilated, she blushed.

"Wow, you know how they say that you ears turn red when you see someone you are sexually attracted to?" asked Tracey, given Daphne a crooked smile, "your ears are totally red."

All Daphne did was smile at Harry Potter, hoping his stomach fluttered just as much as hers did.

* * *

"Where's Hermione?" Neville asked, hands hovering over the sausages as he looked at the roasted tomatoes. "I really wanted to ask her about our charms homework. I know Flitwick won't really care if the homework doesn't have all the correct answers but since I decided to go against Gran on this I want to be really good," the last few words were said with slight delay. Neville shook kis head slowly as he looked at his hands, now resting on his lap.

A hand clasped his shoulder. Dean was giving him slight, lopsided grin.

"I may not be the best student in Gryffindor—" started Dean before he was interrupted by Seamus.

"Just to give you a background perspective; last time Dean checked over me homework I got myself an E." Seamus finished with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Just give it over, Neville. I'll check it out, okay? I'm done with my breakfast either way." Dean said as he pushed all the things that laid in front of him to make some space.

"Where's Hermione though?" Harry asked as he flashed the brightest smile he could muster towards Daphne. After seeing one of her thick eyebrows raise and her lopsided smile, he turned towards his friends.

"She left when we were talking about how you having a girlfriend didn't really stop your weird mood swings last night and you broke Ron's back with that new spell you found because you're tired of his snoring, "said Dean, without looking up from Neville's notes, doing some motions with his free hand.

"Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad! He was barely a few foot off from his bed!" said Harry, hand flying into the air.

"Merlin's balls, Harry! You woke Neville! Neville of all people! I think it was pretty bad. We might even need to get Ron a massage for his back or something," Seamus' fingers went to his lips as he looked around the Great Hall as if searching for someone to give that massage. Ron looked bewildered, as if wanting to join the conversation but the thought of a girl touching him had left him unsure of himself. It didn't matter. Seamus was laughing, as he looked towards the Slytherin portion of the Hall.

"Say, Harry, would your girlfriend's girlfriend like to hang out with our little Ron here. He is a little inexperienced but I'm sure he is a gentleman underneath all of the… redness."

Whatever Harry was going to say was interrupted by a fist smashing the table. It wasn't really as if Ron hitting the table surprised the Gryffindor boys but the fact that Ron was smiling as he did so.

"Now," said Ron as he slowly looked between Harry and Seamus, since they were the only ones paying attention to him, " you guys may not have standards, but I am a man of class—"

"A man that only cares for curves," Dean told Neville as they verified Neville's mistakes.

With barely a glance towards them, Ron continued.

"A man that won't snog the first snake he sees."

"Now Harry, before you start going for my head. I'm sure Greengrass is a nice girl. A nice girl for you. I don't want to get a massage from some random Slytherin. I'd be pretty comfortable with a Gryffindor. Lavender, perhaps. In the end, all I'm trying to say is that our standards are very different my friends. Please don't kill me Harry." Ron finished,, squinting his eyes and ready to receive an aguamenti to the face.

"He should totally pummel you. But the fact we have standards" said Seamus with his characteristic sarcasm, "means that we actually get massages, Ron. You know. Like that thing you are so totally in need of."

Before anything else could happen, Harry saw Dean snapping his fingers at him.

"'I'm gonna ask Daphne to Hogsmade." Harry really wanted to say something regarding this whole tension between his friends but maybe what he said was better. They had all been on edge. Be it their school work, the war, girls. It all seemed to bring an argument. No matter how playful it started, they recently ended with someone else firing water at each other.

"Um, you mean tomorrow? Aren't you guys going to practice form the next match? Neville's words broke the silence. Or as much silence as it could be in the Great Hall during breakfast hours.

"Harry scheduled the Quidditch pitch for the morning. It's not like we'll practice twelve hours." Replied Ron as he stared at Harry, his lips a thin line.

"Harry, mate, whatever you do, just don't take her to Madame Pud—"

"I think I've learned my lesson already, Seamus" Harry interrupted, " and I know we said that we would hang out after Ron and I left Hermione but— well, I mean, you've all been acting like complete twats. I have as well. I just, I don't know if us being together all the time is okay. Yeah, we are friends, but what if one of these day it is not an aguamenti that ends the argument but a punch to the face?"

After seeing the faces of his friends, the boys he had spent days and nights in Hogwarts, he stopped. He knew that would never happen. And their faces told him they knew as well. He suddenly realized what was happening to him.

"Okay, we won't punch each other. But I guess I just want things with Daphne to work out. I mean, we spend so much time together already, but I want more. And maybe I do am looking for excuses to be with her. Guys, I really like her. And tomorrow is Hogsmade Saturday and we could be together all day and it could be amazing. It's Hogsmade, what could go wrong? And you are all being twats and Seamus is looking at me funny and I just went on a full rant like an emotional teenager." Harry sighed. His friends were looking him with mock tears and sobs. Even Neville!

"I—" Harry's voice was outmatched by Dean's words.

"So now that you insulted us, apologized and went full on When Harry met Daphne in less than five minute, I have to ask the important question. Are you gonna kiss the girl?"

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, small update. working on the next one. Be sure to left a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

"So… you saw 'The Little Mermaid over the summer holidays or–"

"Oh shut up, Harry! You're just mad because I made you reconsider your whole _'dating a Slytherin plan.' _Well, guess what. If you are gonna date a girl you're gonna kiss her. In public. And people are gonna see it," Dean said between laughs as he threw stone after stone towards the lake. A couple whirled and bounced before connecting with a grey mass. The Great Squid's tentacle made a snapping motion before it disappeared, returning to the depths of the Black Lake.

"Told you I could hit it it," said Dean with a lopsided smile and a hand stretched towards Harry.

"Sorry about making those guys aware of your meregirlfried," said an smiling Harry. He signalled to Ron, Neville and Seamus, who were sitting under a tree and playing with a pebble that seemed to be engulfed on fire. The boys had been joking around all day about Dean and his love of mermaids, completely unaware of what they were really talking about. "I'll make it up to you some other time," finished Harry.

"It's okay, Harry. I'm not mad. It's just—" he paused before looking at the ground.

"Mate, are you okay?" Harry asked.

But whatever Dean was about to say was interrupted by a pebble engulfed on purple flames flying past them to fall and extinguish in the lake. Both Dean and Harry turned towards their friends. Dean yelled at them.

"Oi! Watch it, you wankers! You could have burned us!"

However, the other boys were pointing towards the castle. Both Harry and Dean turned in that direction and saw Daphne Greengrass walking towards them.

"Guess we'll talk later, Harry," said Dean as he threw one last pebble into the lake. He picked his tie and robe from the ground and started to walk towards their friends.

"You sure?" Harry stopped him by his hands on Dean's shoulder.

"Sure. It can wait. Just make sure you have a date for tomorrow, mate. You kind of need it," said Dean as he made a back and forth motion with his closed fist, not looking back.

Harry was about to raise his middle finger towards Dean but decided to scratch his forehead as he remembered who was walking towards him. He sighed and hoped Daphne had not seen nor understand what Dean meant by that hand motion.

"Daphne," Harry said as she stood in front of him. She was a couple of feet away so he had to look up at her face.

"Potter," answered Daphne. A small silence, besides the chipping of the birds, reigned before Daphne kept talking.

"I've been looking for you, you know?

"It's been a while since we last spoke and, to tell the truth, it's ben killing me not knowing what you thought of the book."

Days before, they had both been sitting under a tree by the Black Lake, discussing schoolwork. The two were trying to apply magic to mundane objects to help their everyday lives. Charms in Harry's case and Runes in Daphne's. He admitted he had done some reading and offered his help, arguing that an amateur perspective may be what Daphne needed.

Harry had read the basics of Rune Magic one day in the library. He had been waiting for Daphne and decided to look for books to try and have more common ground on new conversation topics. He saw a book, with shinning spiral patterns on its cover, floating nearby and decided to read it. He checked the book out that same day.

The lore behind each and every runic alphabet was vast and detailed to the sign. He wasn't sure how to edge a rune with his wand or the effects of them all but he knew their backstory. He had read the book in a fictional sort of way. Each rune a different story.

What he learned that day, plus what Hermione had explained to him, was interesting to say the least. Runes, and their effects, had been affecting his life from the moment he had set foot on Diagon Alley.

Pensieves? Runes. Brooms? Runes. Cauldrons? Runes. Protection? Runes. Hogwarts? Runes. Now, as Harry discovered, all of that could be achieved with charms mixed with Arithmacy or even some sort of advanced Transfiguration. But Runes, if done properly, had more lasting and powerful effects.

The trick with Runes was that they were, well, tricky. The multiple alphabets and their synergy meant there were infinite combinations. Not many people passed their Runes N.E.W.T.'s, even less became full-fledged Rune Masters, so why bother? There were cheaper ways to infuse magic into objects without using so many signs. And yet, Harry wanted to grasp as much knowledge from this alphabets as he could.

"It was actually really interesting," spoke Harry between laughs after seeing Daphne's reaction, "it really was. But don't you think it's kind of late? I mean, it's almost dinner time and everybody most be at the Great Hall right now," he immediately regretted his choice of words.

Harry knew of the danger that was out there. He knew the length Dumbledore had gone to assure the protection of Hogwarts during the school term, spreading the Order thin, but for a second he wished he could have been a bit more selfish. He wished he didn't have to worry about Daphne or anyone else for that matter. Or, at least, not in the way he had been doing since Voldemort's return. He wished he could just have acted like a normal teenager and not like a man with a dark lord chasing after him.

Daphne looked towards the sunset and twirled a strand of hair with two of her fingers. She looked back at Harry, smiled at and said: "Guess we'll have to skip dinner tonight won't we, Mr. Potter?"

Harry looked down, sighed and smiled to himself. Daphne Greengrass had a hold on him that he could not break even if he wanted to. He knew that from the moment she said his name, he would belong to her.

Harry spoke as he raised his head. "You do know it's gonna snow tonight, right?"

Harry could not believe how stubborn he was being. Hadn't he told his friends that same morning how much more time he wanted to spend with Daphne? And yet, he was afraid something could happen. He had started to doubt Hogwarts' safety. Not because of an outside threat but because of one in the inside. His friends wouldn't hear a word about his thoughts on Malfoy's strange behavior. There was something going on with him and he just couldn't place it quite yet.

"I do. I also know that we have this," Daphne said as she showed him her wand, "and something called heating charms."

"Then I guess we won't be having dinner tonight, Miss Greengrass," Harry couldn't help but smile at her as he stretched his hands towards her. She held it, giving it a gentle squeeze and meet his eyes for a few moments. She smiled lightly as Harry helped her down near the river bank. He was a little weary but, maybe, that wasn't such a bad thing.

* * *

After making some chitchat and walking around the grounds for over an hour, they stopped in the Entrance Hall.

"Don't think I didn't noticed how you always changed the subject when I asked you about the book, Potter. Sooner or later you'll have to prove you read it," Daphne said as she crossed her arms and raise one of her thick eyebrows.

Harry just stared at her, smiling. Daphne looked away, a blush rising from her neck.

_He knows. I know. Why do we keep dancing around it? Sure, it's been barely a month but we've been spending a lot of time together and… I know said to Tracey that I would say no if he asked but I know the moment the word Hogsmeade comes out of his mouth I will..,_ Daphne thought.

"How about sooner?" Harry asked.

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked, fully forgetting that answering a question with a questions was no proper way of speaking, "Explain yourself," she corrected as she slightly shook her head.

"Well," Harry started as he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and tried to look away. "I-I just wondered if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me. Or—I—well, not with me b-but, you know, see you there. I have Quidditch practice all morning but, well, Hogsmeade weekend is the weekend. S-so… if, ahh you know, maybe... I could see you there? Go to Honeydukes, walk around the village and talk?"

"Yes," in a second, all the things Daphne had said to Tracey about how she would never say yes to Potter went off the window. She stared into Harry's eyes and saw the doubt in them. She smiled and said: "I'd love to."

"Great! I mean, that's good! Ahhh, I think we'll be finished around noon. So… Three Broomsticks at three o' clock?" asked Harry, biting his bottom lip.

"It suits me just right. I'll see you tomorrow the, Potter" said Daphne as she walked past Harry. She never saw the teenage boy that jumped in excitement, fist in the air, as she walked towards the dungeons.

* * *

"No no no no! You're not getting it! She was going down on me when I woke up and the bed was covered in blood. It was in my hands and all over my body. None of you were here and when I stood up I woke up again. I'm pretty sure is some sort of Divination thing. It's telling me I am gonna like it but then I'm gonna suffer, you know? M-maybe I shouldn't go to Hogsmeade tomorrow," a pillow hit Ron in the head as he stared at his hands.

"Don' be a coward, Ron! Is Lavender too much fer ye now?" grinned Seamus as Ron threw the pillow back at him. "Besides, we're all goin'! It's the DA's reunion."

"Yeah, Ron! We'll have some butter beer, go to Honeydukes to replete the stash. Maybe we'll get something from The Hog's Head on the way back," said Dean as he tried to hang the new soccer poster his brothers and sisters had sent him. It made contrast with the rest of charmed drawings and Chudley Cannons posters on the room's walls.

"Isn't Harry going to ask Daphne out after Quidditch practice?" asked Neville from his bed. He was tending to a new _**Mimbulus mimbletonia **_that Professor Sprout had given to him. Normally, it wouldn't be an issue but he had to keep Harry's Hungarian Horntail model from eating the cactus-like plant.

"Knowing Harry, he'll probably ask her when we actually are at The Three Broomsticks. Not that I am dying for him to ask her out," said Ron as he plummeted back onto his bed, arms folded under his head.

The rest of the boys looked at each other before looking back at Ron. They understood Ron's perspective on the matter. His experience with Slytherins had never been ideal. Snape and the current sixth year Slytherins had always been at odds with most of the Gryffindors. It was mostly a silent agreement to not interact with each other. However, when it came to Harry Potter it was a whole different matter.

They all had experienced some sort of bullying at one point in their lives. They probably had retaliated at another point in time. But Ron was Harry Potter's best friend. And Draco Malfoy did not like Harry Potter. This, added to Harry's view of Malfoy plus Ron's anger issues always lead to some sort of altercation between them. Barely a year before, the whole group got into a fist fight with Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott.

The Slytherins had been making fun of them for a while but it was the insults towards Ron's parents that had made Harry snap and jump at Malfoy. Ron had been right behind him in less than a second. He had always been, even more so after their conflict during the Tri Wizard Tournament.

Dean, Neville and Seamus understood Ron's point of view. Yes, it was teenage romance. But, somehow, it was more than that. All those years protecting each other from the Slytherins just for Harry to go and fall for one of them? It just didn't make sense to Ron and, in a way, he felt betrayed by his best friend.

The dorm room door opened and Harry stepped in, a spring on his step and a smile on his face. A pillow hit him a second later.

"Oi! Watch it!" he said as he threw to pillow back to Seamus.

"We missed you over dinner, Lockhart. Where were you?" Seamus asked.

"I saved you a chocolate frog but, well, your little pet had some fun with it," Neville said as he handed the dragon model back to Harry. "Keep it in a box, Harry. I don't want to wake up to it biting my nose."

"Sorry, Neville, and thanks," said Harry as he took the little Hungarian Horntail and put it inside an empty drawer. He sat on his bed and spoke. "And if you must know, Daphne and I walked around the lake for a while."

"Just walk?" asked Dean as he casually glanced back at him.

"Yeah, Dean, just walked. And talked. You know, before I asked her out to Hogsmeade with me."

Ron's eyes snapped open. He turned towards Harry and asked what every boy in the room wanted to ask. "What did she say?"

"Yes, obviously," Harry's smile widened as he spoke. "I'm seeing her at The Three Broomsticks around three. We can hang for a bit before I go see her. Hold your hippogriffs, boys. Don't get jealous."

"I think someone else will be getting jealous. Not us," Dean said as he took the last candies from the boy's stash and threw a couple on every bed. He bit on a grey colored toffee and howled like a wolf after swallowing it.

"Wha duh you mean?" asked Harry with a mouth full of licorice wand.

"Well, didn't you say that Smith guy was hitting on Greengrass earlier this year?" asked Ron.

"Zacharias? What does he have to do with this? You think he might try something?" asked Harry.

"Well, not exactly. But he WAS a member of the DA so he might show up. And who knows how Cho would take this after you dumped her. Not accusing you, totally made the good call there, mate," said Ron, hands in the air.

After Harry stared at Ron for couple of seconds with no recognition on his face, Seamus spoke again.

"Ye don't remember, do ya? We talked about setting a meetin' for the DA to hang around Hogsmeade. Tomorrow?" Seamus laughed at Harry's bad memory.

"Don't worry, Harry. I'm sure the rest of the DA won't mind if you bring Daphne and hang with us for a couple of minutes before your date," said Neville as he debated between which of the cauldron cakes on his bed he'd eat first.

"Well, I don't know about that," said Ron. Before anyone else could say anything Ron raised his hands and kept talking. "I'm talking about Smith and Cho! If she speaks to me, I'll be civil."

"Thanks, Ron. Really appreciate it, you know," was Harry's answer.

"You think she'll cry?" asked Dean.

"Daphne? W-wha… Why would she cry?" asked Harry as he hunched his shoulders.

"No, idiot, Chang. I mean, I've hear some stuff about how she wants you back," Dean winked at Harry.

"What?" Harry did a double take.

"I heard it from the same person who said you had a pet phoenix so… maybe it's just a rumor?" Dean hunched his shoulders back at him.

"Who do you hang out with when we are not around?" asked Ron.

"You know, seventh years... Fifth years... the girls…"

"Dean just…just… stop. Anyways, can you guys set the mood with the DA before me and Daphne arrive?" Harry sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Ron, go to bed now or you won't wake up for practice tomorrow. And could you dim the lights,guys? I'm going to bed as well."

* * *

_Him, standing alongside two time-bending versions of himself, leading an army of slaves against a black tower. Hundreds of hooded figures following a pale skinned man. Dean, Neville, Ron and Seamus sneaking past a dragon on the ruins of a city. Centaurs, bows and arrows at hand, meeting on a clearing. Remus solemnly plucking a knife from his bleeding chest. Daphne, whispering a wand-lightning charm just to find herself in a cave, surrounded by vampires. Him, Fleur and Krum in the middle of a Quidditch field, Dementors closing in._

_Harry blinked and steadied himself as he breathed heavily. Hands going to his temples, he looked around. He was standing on a hill, facing a forest of dead white trees. Silence reigned; an unnerving deadness filled the air._

_There was a slight tremor and out of the corner of his eyes he saw someone walking towards him. Harry spun and stared into a pair of familiar eyes. Two vast, seemingly empty, black holes that were filled with glittering stars. _

'_What the fuck—?'' Harry asked. He couldn't hear himself nor the girl, who seemed to be speaking to him. Even when she stood no more than five feet away from him he could not hear her words. _

_Before he could ask what was going on, sound started to fill his ears. First, the drumming, a rhythmic beating. Then a river flowing, faster or slower, to the beat of the drums. Nothing made sense until the girl put both her hands on Harry's ears._

_The sounds stopped. _

'_Have you figured it out yet?' asked the girl._

_Harry could feel the voice in his head, as she read the girl's lips. He gave meaning to the movements of her mouth. Who was this girl? Where was he? Why was he here? What was he supposed to figure out? He could not make sense of anything._

_Harry felt a wave of disappointment flow through his head. He looked down at the eyes of the girl and realized the thought had been hers and not his. She was inside of his head. Or was he inside of hers? The girl smiled, stood on her tiptoes and kissed his scar as her words resonated on Harry's thoughts._

'_Have you figured it out yet?"_

_Harry felt the pain flow through him. His vision started to fade as his hands flew to his scar. He felt his knees hit the floor as he screamed. After that, he knew no more._

* * *

'"I'm telling you, he's not coming," Tracey said; "and I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean that because all of his friends just went inside and they seem to be having some sort of reunion. And as much as it pains me to admit it, he WAS their teacher."

"Why would it pain you to admit that?" asked Daphne. They were sitting on a bench across the street from The Three Broomsticks. Patches of grass could be seen among the snow that lay on the ground. It had been snowing lightly all morning.

"It's kind of like giving him my approval, you know? Saying he's good at… well, whatever. That is something you can say whenever I tell you to stop chasing after him," Tracey said.

"You were the one that basically begged me to talk to him. You've been trying to get me to snog him in the prefect's bathroom!" yelled Daphne.

"I know. I… I just never thought you'd go along with it. I mean sure, you say Potter's nice and all. But, well, you having a boyfriend means less time with you and more time with the others. I don't hate the others but... Pansy looks at me funny. I thinks Draco's not been giving her enough and she is starting to believe our rumors," Tracey said as she slowly put her hand over Daphne's and batted her eyes at her. Not even five seconds passed before both the girls laughed out loud.

"For a second there, I almost believed you, Tracey."

"Yeah, I know. Pansy DOES look at me funny, though."

"Well, maybe you should give her a shot," Daphne said as she looked around the street. It wouldn't be Halloween for a couple of weeks but the village was decorated as if it were not two days away.

Miniature, charmed bats hanged outside of stores; window decals of The Wild Hunt and its Death Hounds leaped from window to window, following other, smaller, decals of wizards; and steel Jack o' Lanterns with green fire replaced the top of every street light. But even as familiar as everything was to Daphne, the streets were different than they had been past years.

The habitants of Hogsmeade had decorated their little corner of the magical world in, perhaps, hopes of forgetting the looming threat above their heads. Halloween had always been a significant date for wizard folk. Now even more than ever, it reminded them of how a little boy had been able to stop He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Made. Maybe they were trying to make the village as cheerful as they could for the students. Maybe they did it for themselves.

She had been barely eighteen months old when the Dark Lord had fallen. Her parents never talked much about the situation but, as she grew up, she discovered how bad thing had been when she was but a baby. Now, with rumors and strange disappearances, she couldn't help but fear it would all start again. And yet, here she was worrying about Potter coming to their date.

She had never been more self-conscious of how stupid it all was. All this thinking about Death Eaters and Dark Lords put things into perspective. The boy she was waiting for was destined to defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named one way or another and she worried if he'd think she looked pretty enough.

"Heads up, Potter and Weasley are coming this way," Tracey said as she stood and shook the snow off her. "I'm gonna go find Blaise and the others. See you back at the castle."

Daphne saw Tracey walk by Potter and Weasley as she made her way through the street. Both of them ignored the Slytherin girl walking past them. Daphne could see Weasley talking to Potter but he was looking right at her. He smiled as she waved at him.

She could see them stop in the middle of the street and talk before Weasley headed for The Three Broomsticks. Potter kept walking towards the bench she was sitting on. They kept looking at each other at each other though Potter's eyes darted towards the pub a couple of times.

He sat next to her and whispered a greeting as he took in the Halloween decorations.

All previous thoughts of war and disappearances left Daphne's mind as she answered the greeting and spoke again.

"Really nice, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah," Potter said as he looked at the displays. His fingers drummed against each other. He hunched forward, as if to stand up, before looking at Daphne.

"Promise you won't leave," he said.

"W—why would I leave?" Daphne blinked at Potter.

"I may have forgotten that a meeting was set up between my friends. And I kind of have to go," Potter paused. He stared at Daphne and kept talking a second later: "It has something to do with what happened last year. You know, with Umbridge."

"Oh," Daphne looked at her feet. She kicked a patch of snow as she sighed. Potter kept talking.

"So… wanna go?" asked Potter.

"What?" Daphne looked back at him.

"Yeah, we won't be there more than 20 minutes. I have a couple of ideas of what we can do after. So… what do you say?"

"Well, it seems like you are promising to tell me a long story about your last year," said Daphne.

"I didn't promise any story."

"The promise was implied," she sighed and stood. She look over her shoulder and stared at Potter.

"Well?" He asked.

"You'll have to buy me a drink," Daphne laughed and turned towards The Three Broomsticks. She heard a muttered Impervius charm before Potter bumped his shoulder with hers. She look at him and smiled. They reached the door of the pub when Potter spoke again.

"Hope you like them," he said.

_I hope they like me_, thought Daphne.

* * *

**A/N: Please leave a review and tell me what you think of the chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Please leave a review and be sure to tell me what you've thought so far.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

It wasn't odd for a place like The Three Broomsticks to be packed on Hogsmeade weekends. Conversation, laughter, chatter and the pounding of glasses on tables were the common sounds to be heard around the inn. Madam Rosmerta, the inn owner, would always make sure that a drink was on your hand and a warm meal was on your plate.

Most of the times, there was zero to no space for a couple of students if they decided to arrive late on the afternoon. On this particular day, two long mahogany tables were cobbled together on the back of the inn. A group of around twenty lucky teenagers sat all along them on log chairs and stools.

This particularly big group of Hogwarts students chatted among smaller groups themselves. Most of the girls gossiped about the current state of events at school. Who was going out with who and what was etched on the bathroom stalls was the topic of the day. The boys, on the other hand, seemed to be downing glass after glass of mulled mead, gillywater, butter beer and red currant rum. An impromptu competition of sorts.

"Anything else I can bring you, dear?" Madame Rosmerta asked to Seamus Finnigan as she set a couple of treacle tarts with ice cream on the table. Seamus smirked but a look from Parvati, who sat across from him, made him close his mouth.

"No. No, thank you," Seamus smiled up at Rosmerta as she walked towards the bar to attend the costumers already pilling up. He looked back at Parvati and his smile turned into a scowl. She blew a kiss at him and turned towards Hermione, who was chatting with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot.

Dumbledore's Army had decided to meet at The Three Broomsticks to get up to speed with current events. With Snape as their teacher, they didn't really need the remedial DADA lessons but Neville had suggested it as a sort of way to hang out and keep the inter-House friendly vibe they had had last year. Because of that, a selected few had joined the original group at the inn as they talked and goofed around. For Hermione, it meant a little bit more than that.

The last few months hadn't been easy for Hermione. Lying to her parents had been one of the most difficult moments in her muggle life. Since she was a child, she had never been much for friends; however, her parents had always been there for her. Always loving, always proud. Faking surprise regarding the fall of the Brockdale Bridge, the destruction at Somerset and the persistent mists across Britain had been hard. Being a muggleborn gave Hermione a perspective not many people at the table shared. It was the reason she wanted to test the waters regarding the coming war among them.

Hermione wasn't a Ministry recruiter, nor a supporter of the administration, and in the coming days it would be necessary to know whom to trust. It pained her to think that one of those she considered friends would be indifferent to the blooming events because of their blood status. Most of the people at the table had shared classes with her at one point or another. Pain, happiness and uncertainty swirled inside of her.

She knew Ron, Ginny, Luna and Neville had her back. The rest of the Gryffindor students would protect her as hard as they could. But she knew that none of them could ever measure to Harry. His sense of duty to protect others had always been something she looked up to. He felt it was his duty to protect the innocent. He was kind and compassionate, never cruel or cowardly. He was the reason she was sitting where she was, alive. He was the reason she needed to know whom to trust. He was the boy she loved.

Besides dealing with Voldemort's looming threat, Hermione had to deal with Harry's new interest. It had all started with his thoughts about Malfoy, then the book and then… one Daphne Greengrass. He started to focus more on his studies. He seemed to be changing. For her. Daphne. He barely even mentioned his thoughts regarding Malfoy anymore!

Since he had first talked to her he had started to spend less and less time with his friends. Ron wouldn't talk much about it but the rest of the guys seem to actually encourage the behavior. It wasn't that Hermione was jealous or that she didn't trust her because of who she was. It was just… complicated.

"Where's Harry, Hermione? A bit late, isn't he?" Hannah's words brought Hermione back to The Three Broomsticks. The Hufflepuff girl was twirling a lock of her hair. Before Hermione could answer, a voice across the table cut into their conversation.

"Oh, Gryffindor's Quidditch team had practice this morning! They should be arriving any moment now," Lavender Brown said. She was sitting beside an empty chair. A chair that Parvati would have normally sat on had it not been for Lavender saving it for someone else.

Hannah turned from Hermione to Lavender and the empty chair made her slightly lift her eyebrow. "Waiting for him, aren't you, Lav?" said Hannah as she looked her up and down. Had Hermione not known the real reason the chair besides Lavender was empty, she would have worried.

Lavender laughed out loud, making a couple of the guys turn towards their spot on the table.

"Silly, innit Hermione?" Lavender said before looking back at Hannah. "I'm waiting for Ron, of course." As she spoke, one of her hands traced shapes on the wooden table. Had her finger been covered in ink, small, italic r's would be all over the table.

Hannah's head tilted to her left, almost hitting Susan in the face. She blinked. "R—Ron? What are you on about? Doesn't Hermio—" Hannah half turned towards Hermione before deciding to ask another question. "Why would you wait for Ron?"

"Why wouldn't I? If you mean…" Lavender's words dangled; she pointed to Hermione with her eyebrows and then kept talking. "I already cleared it out with her. After all, we've all know each other for years. We can talk things out, don't you think?"

Hermione was glad the rest of the girls at the table attention focused to other things when they heard the chair was for Ron. Normally, Lavender wasn't as… tactful as she was being with Hannah. She had just obviously insulted all the girls that were trying to make Harry notice them while disaccrediting each other. In all honesty, Hermione knew Harry wouldn't notice any of them. They weren't really talking to him. Out of all the girls at the table, Luna would probably the one with the most chances of snatching Harry.

The thought made her pause. She looked down at the nibbled cookies on her plate and pouted. Even with all of the time Harry was spending with Daphne, Hermione was the person he talked with the most. Not counting his roommates, of course. She started to chew on her lower lip as she played with her cookies.

_I-is it because I take us for granted? What do I even take for granted? That he is mine? That he is not? He is obviously interested on Greengrass. Is it because I'm sev—_

A door slam made Hermione turn and leave her thoughts for another time.

* * *

The front door of The Three Broomsticks flew open and hit the coat rack in front of it. Particles of snow swirled around Ron Weasley as he flinched from outside the doorway, raising his arms. He quickly entered the inn, put the coat rack, and coats, back into place and closed the door before more snow could enter. Most of the head on the place turned back towards their tables with a few exceptions.

From the DA's table, Hermione and all of the DA could see a blushing Ron rub one of his right elbow with his left hand, hunch his shoulders and mutter a 'sorry' before going towards the back tables. They turned back to the faces besides them, pretending they had noticed nothing. All except Lavender.

"Ron! I saved you a sit," Lavender's high pitched voice lost force as Ron got near the table.

Had someone been looking closely, they would have seen Ron Weasley stand a little straighter. He smiled at Lavender as he walked around the side of the table with most of the guys, shaking hands and punching arms. He sat down and greeted the girls around him. Lavender passed him a mug with steaming chocolate and a plate of little pumpkin pasties.

"I thought you'd be hungry after all the hard work Harry must have put the team through and I ordered this for you. Hermione told me you like them," Lavender bit her lower lip as she looked at Ron in the eyes.

"I love them," Ron said as he took a bite out of it and turned to greet Neville. Before he could swallow his food and say hi to his friend, Cho Chang spoke to him from another end of the table.

"Ron, do you know where the rest of the team is? Shouldn't they be with you?"

Ron turned towards Cho. Hermione could see his smile turn into a frown and then back into a smile in a fraction of a second. Ron had never really talked with Cho and he had been glad Harry broke up with her last year but he would never be so out— No, he could definitely be so outright rude. In all of their years as friends, Ron had never really been a tactful person. But why now? It wasn't like Cho had been so bad with Harry. Was it about Marietta?

Ron took a sip of his mug, downed his food and answered the question everyone had been dying to ask.

"Well, Ginny and Katie told us to leave without them so Harry and I headed here after cleaning ourselves up," Hermione noticed Ron's hesitance to talk more about his friend's whereabouts. He took another sip from his drink and tried to divert conversation into other topics.

"And where's Harry?"

Ron sighed and tried to smile as he spoke before being interrupted by Colin Creevy's yell from the other side of the table.

"Harry! Over here!"

Hermione turned towards the door to see Harry hanging Daphne Greengrass' coat on the rack as both of them laughed. He waved at the table and made a motion with his hand, telling them he'd be there in a bit. Hermione's smile faltered.

No thought could be finished. She couldn't focus long enough for her to know how to react. Anxiety winded the cords in her lower back, coiled to be released in a wave of angry or destructive energy…

"They look really nice together, don't they, Hermione?" a small pause in between breaths was all Hermione got from Lavender before she spoke again "Greengrass' crimson blouse definitely brings out her eye, doesn't it? I've always liked blue eyes myself though," Lavender's words hung in the air. Next to her, Ron couldn't hide a smile as he spoke with Neville.

Hermione turned towards the blonde and couldn't quite be sure if she was commenting for the other girls at the table or if she really meant the words she spoke. Maybe Lavender had seen Harry and Daphne before and knew something was about. Maybe she was only projecting her dreams with Ron on Harry's platonic relationship with Daphne. Maybe. Hermione didn't know.

* * *

"Here!" Harry said as he handed Daphne a butter beer. It had been difficult to be heard or seen over all of the people at the counter but Madame Rosmerta seemed to have a soft spot for Harry so she took his order as soon as she saw him. It felt weird accepting the different treatment but he was on a date so he took it anyways. He'd buy some candy for his friends to make it up to the universe.

"Are those all of the people from last year? They are more than what I expected" Daphne said as she pointed to the two tables on the back.

"Most of them. There's a few missing and couple of new people too," Harry said as he led the way towards the tables. He turned and walked backwards, staring right at Daphne's eyes.

"We could go, you know? There's a way out through the other end and we'd end up in an alleyway right next to Tomes and Scrolls. We could buy some quills. I could tell you all about Moon Runes, too."

Daphne smiled as she stretch one of her hands towards Harry's shoulder. He didn't realize it, but she had just stopped him from colliding with a couple of goblins walking behind him.

"Weren't you the one who said we had to come? Besides your friends already took notice of us. And, Potter, there's no such thing as a Moon Rune," Daphne cocked her head slightly to the right as she spoke, giving Harry a clear view of the Europe shaped scar on the left side of her neck. He gave a small smile and looked at Daphne's hand on his shoulder. Before he could lookback and ask about the particular scar, they were shoved by an old man muttering to himself.

"So rude for someone who looks so much like a Puffskein, wouldn't you say, Potter?" Daphne said as she straightened her blouse and stared back at the old man making his way towards the door.

Harry could do nothing but look at her. Beauty that could not be put into words. Just seeing her, standing right in front of him, could make him smile. He could see himself falling down a rabbit hole for her.

"I'm sorry," Harry said as he adjusted his glasses.

"For what, Potter? Being nice? That's better than most ever do so don't apologize for that."

"You know, an argument could be made about Zacharia—"

"Do you really want to bring that up? He is here, isn't he? Merlin, Potter! I knew he was part of your army, or something, but I thought that you asking me here meant he wouldn't be here. Besides, I thought it wouldonlybethetwoof—"

Now, it was Harry's time to put a hand on Daphne's shoulder. Harry let her take a couple of breathes before he imitated Daphne's actions from before, slightly cocking his head to the side, and he spoke.

"Hey, don't worry. Nobody in those tables even likes the guy so we are fine. We'll go there; you'll meet my friends; we'll eat some cake and then we'll go take a walk around town. Okay?"

Daphne nodded. Harry backed a couple of steps back and started to lead her towards the long mahogany tables on the back, never taking his eyes of her. He stopped and Daphne almost bumped into him. His lips quivered. She raised an eyebrow. He hesitated. She smiled. He spoke.

"Besides, after we're done with of this, it will only be the two of us," he gave a shaky laugh before looking at her.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Let's go then, Potter. Introduce me, will you?" Daphne tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before taking her eyes away from his.

"I will," said Harry as he strengthened his glasses once again.

* * *

"Guys, this is Daphne Greengrass and, uuh… she's great. Really hope you guys like her. Is there a place for us to sit?"

"I don't think so, mate," Ron said. "We could ask Madame Rosmerta for a couple of chairs for you and… for the two of you."

"Oh don't be silly, Ron! We were just leaving," Lavender said as she rose from her chair and motion for Daphne to sit in the places she had just vacated.

"Were we? I just finished my choc—" Ron was interrupted as Lavender took him by the hand and started to say her goodbyes to the table. She led the ginger in the general direction of the inn's entrance.

Harry made sure to greet and introduce Daphne personally to as much people as he could as the two of them made their way to the just vacated seats.

"Did you finish the Runes homework already, Daphne? I heard you had some difficulty with your work," Hannah asked once they had both sat down and ordered something. With that, conversations started all across the tables once again.

"Well, I wouldn't say I find it difficult to achieve something. I think it is more so a lack of inspiration. Potter and I had been throwing ideas around but nothing really seems to stick around. Maybe later we'll come up with something. What about you, Hannah? Hear Granger had to take care of your last project. Nice work there, by the way," Daphne answered, a smile on her face.

"What do you mean you and Harry? He doesn't even take Runes," Hannah said as he pointed at Harry, disbelief on her face.

"Well, he is quite knowledgeable in the field. Or at least he thinks he is. Still, it's fun to hear his ideas. You know, we have a nice back and forth. Don't we, Potter?" Daphne nudged at Harry with her elbow. Harry nodded at her.

"It is quite fun, honestly. Kind of regret not choosing it as an elective. Still, I am sure Daphne appreciates a rookie's input," Harry said to Hannah.

Before Hannah could realize what was going on, Dean joined into the conversation.

"Is that why you made us all take Runes books out of the library? You haven't delivered mine, you know? Madame Prince is gonna tear me a new one next time she sees me."

"Has he now? He said all he knew he had learned it from Granger and just one book I leant him. Who would have thought it, huh Potter?" Daphne said as she rested her head on one of her palms and twirled a lock of her ashen blonde hair with the other.

"I said I had learned from Hermione and lent books, not just your book, Daphne," Harry downed his butterbeer and ordered a new one. He was sure Seamus was trying to pass him some Ogden's through Neville but he was on a sort of date. Maybe when they were back at their dorm.

"Maybe I should ask Granger for help then. What do you say Granger? Group project?" Harry noticed Daphne's attempt to integrate one of his best friends into the conversation but the Hermione seemed to be out of it. Her eyes kept going from Daphne to Harry as she chewed her bottom lip.

"Maybe not. One Gryffindor is enough for me as it is. Longbottom, mind passing me one of those chocolate frogs?" Daphne said after she stared at Hermione for a couple of seconds. A furrowed brow on her face.

"Harry," Cho Chang's voice sliced the split of a second of silenced that had formed across the table. Harry almost choked upon his butterbeer when he heard her. A chocolate frog was squashed next to him.

"Mind passing me another one, Longbottom? I'm afraid this one was quite feisty," Daphne said, not looking at Harry.

"Yeah, Cho? What's the matter?" Harry asked, not looking at her. His index finger drumming the neck of his butterbeer bottle.

Completely unaware of Daphne's reaction, Cho Chang kept talking.

"Some of us were wondering if you would reinstitute the DA in some way or form. Last year was great and it would be a shame to let all of what we learned go to waste, wouldn't you say?" She said as she bit her bottom lip and stared at him.

"Pardon me, Longbottom. It seems you have quite a hand for this feisty chocolate frogs. Mind passing me a white chocolate one? That might be the one. I promise I won't bother you again," Daphne said as she quickly vanished the chocolate mess and took the collectible card.

"Well, Snape is much more competent than Umbridge so I don't know. It might be fun though. I could speak with Professor Dumbledore about it," Harry gave a pause and before he spoke again, he heard Daphne mutter something about slags. "I do think that what we learned last year was good but if this were to happen, I think we should focus on new stuff. I think it would do for a more…interesting year."

"Besides, we wouldn't want a repeat of last year. Or would you, Cho? I mean, it was awful how the whole thing ended, wouldn't you say? It was so… humiliating," Dean spoke. While everyone was thinking of the Inquisitorial Squad, Harry was sure Dean meant a whole different situation. It was obvious to Harry that Cho knew what Dean was talking about too. He could see her grip the mug on her hand and her upper lip twitch.

Casual chatter reigned the table again. Daphne talked with Dean about how she had heard of his drawing skills. Seamus kept whispering stuff into Neville's ear. Ginny and Katie arrived and sat on the empty spaces that had been left by those who had already left. Hermione joined the conversation even. She was still a bit more reserved than she would normally be but Harry was fine with it. She was talking again and for the moment it was enough. Thirty minutes flew by instantly.

"I guess is time to go. I'll go get my coat. It was really nice to meet you all. I know you Gryffindors only talked to me because I came with Potter but it was nice," as Daphne stood Hanna spoke again.

"It's such a shame you're leaving so early, Daphne. Hope you have a nice time today. Say hi to Tracey for me," Hanna said to Daphne while she kept stealing glances at Harry. She did a double take when she saw him standing.

"It was great to see you all again, guys! Hope we can do this again sometime so keep an eye on those galleons," with that, Harry stood and him and Daphne made their way towards the door.

"I liked Thomas and Longbottom. They were nice. Granger didn't seem to like me though," Daphne said as Harry handed her her coat.

"Oh, don't say that. Hermione is just someone hard to interact with at first. She didn't have many friends growing up. Neither did I to be honest. But I guess she has always had a harder time than most. Give it time and I'm sure you'll make a fine pair," Harry opened the door and casted heating charms on the both of them after seeing snow falling from the sky.

"Such a gentleman, Potter," Daphne said as she took the lead.

"It is just the two of us after all," Harry said as he closed the door to The Three Broomsticks.

* * *

From one of the stools on the mahogany tables, Neville could see Cho Chang reaching the point of tears. A couple of Ravenclaw girls were trying to console her but it didn't seem to work. Neville could swear he heard sobs and mutterings of 'my fault' and 'shouldn't have said anything.'

Closer to his seat, a lone Hermione was making chit chatting with Ginny and Parvati but Neville could tell she wasn't really into it. She looked at the other girls but did not saw them. He saw her eyes darting towards the inn's door. He saw her chewing her lips and scratching the table. Neville wasn't sure what was happening there.

Hannah. Neville knew. He had always know. He didn't blame Harry. He was sure Harry didn't even noticed it now that he had Daphne. But Neville did notice. And all he could do was blame himself. Ron, Seamus and Dean always told him that he had a chance, and maybe he did, but he just didn't know what to do.

And right next to him, two of his friends were discussing what to buy with the money Harry had given to them.

"I'm telling you he wanted us to replenish the stash and this is for some Ogden's," said Dean.

"You're being stupid. This can buy us more sweets at 'Oneydukes! We just have to pitch in a wee bit more for de Firewhisky," Seamus answered.

"Which is basically the same to what I am suggesting," Dean deadpanned.

"Shut up, it's cheaper my way," Seamus said.

"I'll put some more, just shut up," Neville said as gulped down his hot chocolate and rested his head on the table.

Both Dean and Seamus stared at Neville's defeated look. They then looked at Neville's mug. And finally, they took a look at Hannah Abbot.

Seamus gave Neville a pat in the back and spoke to him.

"Don't worry, Neville. Soon you'll start drinking, then drinking for real and then will come the girls."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Been pretty busy with college lately so this update is just slightly bit bigger than the others. Hopefully the next ones can be a bit bigger even. Never the less, I hope to hear any suggestion you might have. I would appreciate a review with all of your criticism, enjoy. **

**Chapter 7**

"I've always loved stories. All kinds of stories, really. Scary stories, funny stories… love stories. My dad says we can't ever live without stories. That the reason we dream is because we want to be entertained by some sort of fiction even when we are not awake.

"I once heard that things need not have happened to be true. I mean they do, obviously. B-but in a way they don't. You know what I mean? More often than not, people find more solace on the words between pages than in those spoken by others. I should know that," the last couple of words barely a whisper.

"I know I'm probably not making any sense at all, talking about all this stuff all of a sudden, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can understand that putting thoughts into words can be difficult. Stories have power b-because it sort of makes what happened more…. Realer. And, I believe, your life isn't like the stories they tell and maybe you don't really want to talk about it and I'm pushing you to do so and you are probably starting to hate all of this and I should shut up."

Snow covered more and more of the cobblestone road as they got further and further away from the High Street. They walked past Zunko's and Honeydukes; past Spintwitches and Dervis &amp; Bange's; past Tomes and Scrolls and to the outskirts of town.

"Potter! You aren't even listening! I know I might have been a bit pushy and you're mad but that's no reason to ignore me. I was sharing something important about how I see the world with you and now it seems like I've gone and ruined everyt—" Daphne stopped talking as Harry whirled around to take a real look at her. It was the middle of the day but no one seemed to be walking the road they were in.

Harry smiled at the image in front of his eyes. Daphne was a silhouette, breaking the warm light of Hogsmeade behind her. She had just tied her hair onto a bun and a couple of free locks were being blown across her face by the wind. Her hands were fidgeting with the hem of her coat. The wind rustled the tree branches around them. He could see the snow, idly falling around her.

Slowly, almost involuntarily, Harry walked up to Daphne and took her left hand in his right. He didn't know why he was doing what he was doing but he did not regret doing so. Maybe it was the way she was looking at him. Maybe it was the way her dark red blouse brought out the color of her eyes amidst the snow. Or, perhaps, it was her soft smell of wildflowers making his mind go as blank as parchment. In the end, it didn't really matter.

A bolt of lightning went from the tip of his fingers to the base of his neck. Harry felt his face burn, a river of blood running through him. He was afraid Daphne could hear the beating of his heart. A smile spread across his face when he realized what was happening. Here he was, on a date, holding Daphne Greengrass' hand.

She gave him half a smile, a smile that told a story all by itself, before she spoke. Her voice was soft, making Harry remember how much he wished she would call him by his name. Or maybe he didn't. He wasn't entirely sure.

"What are we doing, Potter? I thought we'd go buy quills and we'd talk. Not that I am complaining with just walking around, but I am apparently the only one doing the talking. I mean, it is nice being with you but —" Daphne stopped in her tracks. She looked away and started to chew on her bottom lip. Moments ago she had been staring right into Harry's eyes but now she was blushing and looking at the snow covered grass at their feet.

"I mean—"

"Well I—"

The two of them laughed. Minutes ago they had been having a great back and forth conversation. Or at least Daphne had been talking. Now, it seemed as if it was the first time they were really speaking with each other. Minus the hand holding, of course. Harry knew it was technically their first date but surely the had gotten past all this clumsiness, hadn't they?

"We do that pretty often, don't you think?" Daphne said as she gave a shy laugh.

"What were you going to say, Potter?"

Harry smiled once again. He could still the tremor of his heart, the beating against his chest. She was always the one to talk before a silence became too awkward. He thanked Merlin for that. He adjusted his glasses in a way that he knew would make him look like a know-it-all.

"Well, I was going to answer your question Daphne. I thought that if I am going to tell you all of my stories we might need some scenery for you to enjoy. And what a better place than the most infamous and frightening building in Britain? The Shrieking Shack. Unless, of course, you are too afraid to go near it…" He was walking backwards now, something he seemed to do a lot around her, arms spread in a dramatic effect.

"Afraid? Me? Are you kidding? Besides, even if I was, I am with you. Word goes around you can outfly a dragon, Potter. A Hungarian Horntail at that."

"You saw that?"

"The whole school was paying attention, Potter. I mean I had seen you flying during Quidditch but that… that was a whole different thing."

"That was luck, mostly," unconsciously, Harry rubbed his right shoulder and winced slightly. Madame Pomfrey had made her magic and healed the wounds left by the Hungarian Horntail. However, like with the basilisk, the dragon had left a scar. A long gash covered Harry's shoulder blade. "Still, I guess I can fly. At least good enough to capture your attention."

"Don't get cocky, Potter. Now let's go… less a lethifold finds us unaware."

"There hasn't been lethifolds around here for centuries, Daphne," Harry said with a laugh as he flicked his wand as if it were a sword. "Still, I guess we have to disagree a bit. I hear people talk about how bad lethifolds are but I personally hate dementors. I mean, it's already difficult to cast a _Patronus_. It's a psychological issue. And to all of that, you have to add the sadness dementors bring with them. A complete nightmare, really.

"Still, it's not always as hard as we think… I guess. If for a second, we remember who we are and what we've been through, I believe happiness can be found. And that's all you really need to fend them off. People say a happy memory is enough to drive them off. They are wrong. You use that memory to ignite a reaction in yourself, a spark. Then, that spark flows through you like a river of light. It focuses and illuminates the biggest aspects of your life.

"Meeting someone for the first time and feeling like you've known them all your life. The tingling as McGonagall put that Sorting Hat on top of your head. Seeing the sparks fly out of your wand that first time you held it. The sweet smile of a beautiful girl. The wind in your face as you fly through the air, carefree. All those bright and shining moments, brought to the front of your thoughts. And, if you concentrate hard enough, that spark will materialize into a _Patronus_. Although, not all of us can focus on being happy long enough. Dementors can make sure of that."

"You'd say that, wouldn't you?" Daphne said as she walked ahead of Harry, making him turn and stare at her back as she kept moving forward. For a second there, she had held his eyes with a hint of… something. But he had been too bold, too arrogant. Or had he? The silence that had been absent for days had returned.

A slight breeze made the empty branches of the birches along the road click and rattle. The snow kept falling, but it looked as if the sun was illuminating Daphne's path alone. And despite his confusion, and the strange silence between them, Harry wished he had Colin's camera.

Harry shook his head and sprinted until they were walking side by side again. He could see a dull, black mass far away from them. He really needed to get new glasses.

They kept walking for a bit, the only sound being that of their footsteps rustling the dry snow on the cobble road. The silent falling of snowflakes from the sky was the only sign of time passing Harry could notice. He kept stealing glances at her, as if daring her to talk, to speak up once again. Harry realized it was time for him to do so.

"Did I say something wrong?" a hesitant question, an apology. "I'm sorry. I know I can be hard to understand sometimes. Neville keeps saying all this reading is making me weird. Making me go all philosophical about how I think spells and magic work."

As silence reigned, the light breeze from before returned, making music out of the branches of trees. Harry pocketed his wand and made a go for Daphne's hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze. Daphne flinched slightly before staring back at him, confusion and a blink. She smiled back at him but did not hold his hand. They didn't stop walking towards the Shrieking Shack.

"It's just…Y-you make it sound so easy and so complicated at the same time. The way you talk about that charm it's… it's beautiful," Daphne said she raised both her arms to the sky.

"I mean, all this talk about happiness and how it materializes into a _Patronus_. Potter, I've seen trained Aurors that could barely cast a noncorporeal Patronus under pressure. Ever since then, I've always wanted to be able to cast one. And then people come along and talk about how your silvery, ethereal elk batted hundreds of dementors on your first go. "

"They say that about me?" Harry asked as he remembered remembering himself cast the _Patronus_ that night back on Third Year. It always made Harry uncomfortable how people talked about him and the things he got up to. Hearing it from the mouth of someone who hadn't live with him for six years was… bizarre.

"Potter, who are you that you don't know your own stories?" Daphne locked back at Harry in annoyance. Her upper lip quivering a bit. A tick. Harry apologized.

"I'm sorry. I-It's just it wasn't like that. It took me months to even cast a silvery wisp. And it's a stag. I didn't mean to upset you, Daphne," Harry said as he laid his right hand on Daphne's shoulder. Her left side was to Harry, making him see only half her face as she looked onward. On her neck, a scar as recognizable as his. He wanted to ask about it but she had never asked about his. He was sure the whole wizarding world knew about his but to him it made a difference.

The two of them had reached the fence that kept them from getting closer to the Shrieking Shack. The trees hummed with the wind as Harry leaned in the fence to get a better look at Daphne. She was looking at the Shrieking Shack, but not really seeing what was in front of her.

"A sickle for your thoughts," he whispered after seeing her breathe disappear in front of him. It was only the two of them now.

"It's not your fault," Daphne said not raising her voice beyond what was necessary. Both her hands were gripping the railing of the fence. Her eyes, downcast.

"When I was little, seven years old maybe, I-I… uuhh, well I mmhh… let's just say I had an encounter with a dementor. I was scared. I mean, w-what little girl wouldn't get scared of a dark cloaked covered human shape with skin resembling that of a rotten body?" Harry could see Daphne's knuckles pale as her grip on the wooden rail tightened. He remembered what she said about words making things realer.

"In retrospective, it was my fault. I mean, I let go of my mom's hand when she wasn't looking. And why would I wander about in the Ministry? All I could remember about it was that it was boring. Until that day, I guess.

"Somehow, I found the Auror Offices and for some reason they had a dementor roaming outside those offices. I was so little and… the world around me…I remember darkness. I could hear my mom screaming before I saw it. It was a wingless dragon. Later, I would discover what animal it was. But in that instant, I only knew that a dragon was saving me from darkness.

"You're not the only one who is afraid of dementors. But out of the two of us, you're the one strong enough to drive them away, Potter," Daphne finished with a sigh.

"Sorry if I brought the mood down. You were supposed to tell me stories and I went and told you a traumatic experience in my life. I'm sorry I ruined this."

"You do know I never said I'd tell you a story, right?" Harry asked her as he flashed her a smile. He knew how hard it is to talk of things like that, especially if one was alone. His first encounter with a dementor would always be present in his mind. It was a secret that he would carry around for the rest of his life. His mother, begging for mercy for her son.

They had both turned their backs to the Shrieking Shack and were looking at the trees on Hogsmeade general direction. Daphne nudged him in the ribs.

"You know it was implied, Potter," she said as she looked up towards the cloudy sky. If someone had been looking from afar they would have seen Harry smile as a glint of something on the ground that might once have meant something to someone caught his attention.

"So there I was. I had just stolen a golden egg from a dragon and didn't know what to do with it…"

* * *

"How could you not have known nothing would happen to the hostages?!"

"Hey! Everyone likes to throw that at me but they had just made me face a dragon two months before that. It's not much of a stretch now, is it?" After a short pause, Harry spoke again. "Still, I guess I should have trusted Dumbledore a little bit more," Harry said as he looked upwards. He was leaning back on the fence and had a smile on his face.

He had been telling Daphne all about the Second Task. She had interrupted him at almost every event but he didn't mind. The Triwizard Tournament tasks were, to him, the easiest of his tales to tell. Pretty much everybody knew about them already, but not from his point of view. He had wanted to tell Daphne all about third year, facing the dementors, but he knew it would be complicated. While he enjoyed spending time with her, and probably genuinely liked liked her, it would be too soon. Too soon to tell her about loss and pain and hardship. A flash of grief clouded his face as he remembered Sirius going through the arch.

"It's getting late, Potter," Daphne's voice brought him back from his thoughts. She was standing a few paces in front of him, looking at the setting sky. A tonal sea of pinks, reds and gold and an infinite number of faint, glittering, diamond-like stars. It made his face burn and his heart ease. He really needed to buy a camera like Colin's.

"And?" He asked, folding up his arms and walking up to her. She was slowly walking backwards in the general direction of Hogsmeade while looking at the sky.

"And we have to go before there are no more carriages waiting for us."

There was a finality in the way she spoke. The way her legs moved as she walked backwards and looked at the infinite sky reminded Harry of a ballet dancers. It was mesmerizing in a way. Barely a month ago, she had been the pretty blonde on the train and now here she was. The two of them, walking along a clearing of white, dead trees.

He had probably been through the same road dozens of times in the past couple of years but there was something familiar and unfamiliar about it all. Him and an ashen blonde girl amidst white, dead trees. It was a déjà vu of sorts, Harry thought.

The silence broke as Daphne started to hum a faint melody. Harry blinked and forgot all about what was in his head seconds before. It was a beautiful and familiar melody. He realized that should he never hear her utter a sound again, he would miss the sound of her voice. He was staring at her, at the shape of her mouth. If he could only…

"Then let us go, less those thestrals leave without us," Harry said as he walked ahead of Daphne. Words had come out of his mouth without him realizing it. And impulse he didn't even felt. He could hear her rush to keep up his pace. Harry smiled at the thought of having a girl he actually liked literally chasing after him. Sort of.

They had been walking side by side for a couple of minutes when they reached Hogsmeade. Daphne had been listening to Harry as he explained all about the rune system Hermione had shown him. It wasn't a really complicated system. And it had been the first Harry had learned. It was more so a subdivision of an overly complicated and lost system. They were less powerful versions of a forgotten alphabet. The Quen rune for example, Harry had discovered, was a protection rune. It was simple but not so powerful. It could be used to bend the trajectory of a simple jinx away from those who had an item with the run etched on them. However, it wasn't as powerful to protect someone from a fall of the Astronomy Tower.

Harry knew Daphne knew all of what he was explaining but there was something in the way she saw him as he explained what he knew. As if she was enthralled. It reminded him of his time teaching Dumbledore's Army.

As they kept walking, Harry noticed Daphne inched closer and closer to him. She linked her arm with his and he almost fall into the snow covered road. He was thunderstruck.

"Hope you don't mind, Potter. It's gotten colder since we crossed the stone bridge outside of town," she said as their sides pressed together. Harry felt himself redden and he stuttered as he spoke.

"Y-yeah," Harry said. "I-I mean it's fine," he said before giving a shaky laugh. He saw her roll her eyes but a smile forced her way to her face. They had reached a sort of commotion on the middle of High Street so she made them take a turn and make their way through the less crowded streets of town. It was getting dark and some of the charmed bats had gotten away from the shops and were harassing people as they walked along the street. They fled onto a dark alleyway as they laughed and ran from the flying creatures. It was a tight space. The two of them were leaning against a bricked wall as they stood side by side.

"I had a great time, Daphne," Harry said as he saw people walk in front of the alley. Soon they'd be able to walk High Street and get to the carriages. The darkness was taking the sky, powdered gold flew amidst the snow and the last rays of sunlight dimly illuminated her face.

"You ever get tired of that?" Harry asked. She was looking at the sky once again.

"No. Never have. Guess I never will," Daphne answered. They were both looking into the sky when she spoke once again.

"Tell me another story."

"I highly doubt that would be a fair trade, Daphne. Why don't you tell me a story this time? I'll even give you what I have in my pocket," Harry said, hands going to his pockets. Before she could protest in any way, he passed her a chocolate frog he had pocketed from when they were at The Three Broomsticks.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Daphne smile as she momentarily looked down into the chocolate frog. She pocketed it and gave Harry a slight nudge.

"How did you even know I like them?" She was looking at him now. He wasn't sure if he should look back, pretend he couldn't notice or smile and keep looking upward. He looked back at her.

"I saw how you kept asking Neville for more when we were at The Three Broomsticks. I mean, how could I not notice that?"

In the dark of the alley, it would have been hard to notice the blush on Daphne's face. So hard, Harry wouldn't have noticed it had it not been for the specks of gold dust floating all around them.

"Yes. Yes, well I may have been asking them for a whole different reason, Potter. Maybe it was only a craving."

"It wasn't," Harry's boldness surprised him a bit. Hermione always said he rushed into dangerous situations but it wasn't that way with girls. It had always been an issue. Fumbling words, butchering sentences, avoiding eye contact. None of those were present as he looked at Daphne on that alleyway. He thought that maybe he knew what he was doing. It was as if another part of his mind awoke when he was with Daphne.

"Trust me. There couldn't have been other reasons to ask for them. I think I'm fairly sure of that," Harry hoped they were talking about the Cho thing or he would be making a fool of himself right that instant.

Daphne's blush was still all over her face when Harry noticed her a lot more serious than before. He closed his mouth as his fingers balled into fists. Seconds ago he was so sure of himself and now Harry knew better than to break the silence formed between them. He had screw it. He knew it.

"All those girls back at The Three Broomsticks would have dragged you around town. They would have paraded you around that crowd we saw on High Street. They would have made sure to go to all the shops and even to Madam Puddifoot's. And you are here.

"Against all rational thought, you decided to skip Hogsmeade all together to go to a supposed haunted house and talk about things you must have talked about hundreds of times. You spent almost all of your Hogsmeade day out of Hogsmeade. And with a Slytherin.

"All those girls would have been glad to rush through the motions to get you all alone in one of those carriages. And you are with the one that seems to be hiding you in dark alleyways. I-I mean, I know we're…. I'm sure you would have had a better time with any of them."

"But I don't think I would have," Harry said. He was looking straight at Daphne and for a moment, Voldemort was not there. Dumbledore wasn't there. Not the Dursleys and not even his friends. It was only her. He knew it was stupid of him to think that way. But didn't he deserve this? A respite from the weight of the prophecy?

"Sure, I would have probably enjoyed hanging out with the guys. And I would have bought a couple of things had Hermione or Luna dragged me around town. But besides them, I don't think I would have enjoyed being with anyone else today more that I enjoyed my time with you. All that parading around you just spoke of, that's just not who I am. And I enjoyed sharing our stories, Daphne. I really did.

"There is so much more to you than walking around Hogsmeade," Harry said with an easy shrug.

Taking her time to assimilate what Harry had just said, Daphne looked back into the infinite sky with a smile on her face. It was a beautiful sight. The scar was visible once again. He was dying to ask about it but before he could do so, the movement of Daphne's lips broke the silence more so than her words.

"Such flattering, Potter. Making me feel unique and all that. Will you try to tell me there is mistletoe above our heads now? Do you do this with all the girls?"

Daphne's soft, measured voice made Harry know she was just playing with him. She was probably expecting to get a couple of butchered words out of him. But he didn't falter and even took a moment to process a response. Choreographing hand gestures for better delivery of his statement, Harry spoke what he thought was a witty response.

"Only to the special ones, Daphne. Just blondes, really," Harry said, leaning once again into the bricked wall.

"You prat," Daphne said as she laughed and lightly slapped Harry's shoulder. The smile on her face disappeared as Harry spoke again.

"Just you."

"Think we should go now? We don't really know what time it is and we're probably late now," Harry said, looking one last time towards High Street. It seemed to be empty but he couldn't be too sure.

"Lead the way, Potter;" Daphne said as she nodded and gestured for Harry to go forward. She linked arms with him again and squeezed him tight as they walked towards the general direction of the thestrals pulled carriages.

They never saw the body of a fat old man, being covered by the falling snow, in the alleyway across the street. They never saw the nervous young man standing next to it, hiding in the shadows. They never saw Draco Malfoy pocketing his wand after they made their way towards Hogwarts.

* * *

"They… T-they left. Oh, Merlin what are we gonna do?! I can't not arrive at the castle! Snape is gonna kill me. Tracey is gonna kill me! She must be thinking I'm shaking it up with you at some sort of Gryffindorpartyorsomething," Daphne said as her eyes were wide open and her hands kept moving up and down. They had just arrived at the spot where the carriages waited for students and there were none in sight.

In all fairness, Harry would be freaking out had he had no knowledge of the secret passages around town. True, only the Honeydukes passage would be usable at that point in time but they still had a way out. Although without his cloak, Harry recognized it would be a difficult task.

"Why aren't you more preoccupied about this? They are going to put us in detention for this! And if anyone in the school didn't know we spent the whole day together they probably will know!" Harry was reminded of Hermione whenever she had one of her homework panic attacks. If he was honest with himself, he didn't like to think of Hermione and Daphne as similar entities. Sure, Hermione was her best friend but Daphne was… well, Daphne.

As Harry saw Daphne's hands make a grab for his shoulders to, he supposed, shake him out of his thoughts, Harry fought down a laugh and asked her to calm down.

"Listen. Listen," Harry said, raising his hands to stop her.

"I know a way back into the castle. It's easier than walking the road the carriages take. Faster too."

Daphne was looking at him, half incredulous and half hopeful. She was chewing on her bottom lip and blinking fast. She must have been considering the possibilities of what Harry was saying.

"Are you being honest?" she asked.

"What would I get from lying about it?" Harry answered as he adjusted his glasses.

"I-I don't know. Points or… ugh whatever. Let's just go," Daphne said and turned, making her way back into High Street. She gave not two steps before turning back at Harry, a slight frown on her face. After a sigh, she asked what Harry had expected her to ask.

"W-Where is this shortcut of yours, Potter?" a serious, if not half curious tone, in Daphne's voice.

"Why Honeydukes cellar, of course!"

Not twelve minutes later, Harry was making sure that stacks of wooden crates completely covered the entrance of the passageway into the castle.

Sneaking into the cellar of the store hadn't been as hard as they had thought. In fact, it would seemed as if they whole thing had been heaven sent. Old Ambrosius Flume had been making his way up the stairs as the two of them entered the store. He didn't even look back to see who might be coming near closing time. He had just waved one of his hands off and told them he'd be back in a minute. There had been no clerk in the counter and the door to the cellar had been unlocked.

Side by side with Daphne, Harry's pace slowed down a little to match hers. Before darkness could settle in, a whispered _Lumos_ from both their mouths illuminated the path ahead of them.

They walked in complete silence. The echoes of their shoes on the rock floor bounced around the passageway. They had to duck and pressed together to avoid getting hit by old roots or loose stone. Wands pointing forward, Harry could see Daphne's face out of the corner of his eye. Her lips were a thin line of paleness on her blushed face. As if she were bitting her lips not to speak.

"What's so bad about Gryffindor parties?" Harry asked. His voice strained in a casual attempt to sound casual as it bounced around the cavern. His wandless hand rubbed on the back of his neck as he pretended he hadn't just said that.

"What?" Daphne whispered, her wand lowering for a bit before returning to the stance it had been before.

"Yeah. Are we that bad?" Harry asked.

"You," she said as she made a jab at him with her wand, "are not so bad, Potter. Besides, I doubt you would like to spend a whole evening with my social circle. So, why don't we don't talk about this right now?" Daphne said, throwing a half smile at Harry before he shrugged and motioned forward.

Their pace quickened after that. Harry thought of what to say next. He wouldn't mind hanging out with Daphne's friends if it meant they could hang around more often than they did. Most of their meetings were confined to the Hogwarts Library and the occasional visit to the Black Lake. He couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps Daphne was ashamed of him in a way. A respected pureblooded heir being seen with The Chosen One could probably alienate her from her Slytherin peers. But then, why even bother to hang out at all?

Harry knew Daphne wasn't like that. Or, at least, he thought he knew. How good did he know her? He didn't know much about her fa—

"It's not like I am ashamed of you, Potter," Daphne said, bringing Harry out of his thoughts. He was falling behind her and had not noticed her. She had swirled and a strand of hair covered half her face. She made a gesture with her head, indicating for him to keep moving.

"You must think I don't want my friends to know that I was with you today. Or… uhh that maybe I don't even want the school to know we've held hands once or twice," the light coming from the tip of Daphne's wand reminded Harry of a sword as she moved it as she spoke. She seemed uncertain of what she was doing and yet she spoke.

"It's just… What will come next, Potter? Between us? Yes, we are f... whatever. But not everyone will know that. They will point and say thing we might not like. They will spread rumors about whatever they think this is," the last sentence was emphasized as the light of Daphne's light went from her to him and from him to her.

"And you hate that as much as I do. Perhaps even more so for what I imagined you've had to live through. So if I don't parade you around or ask you to take me to all of my classes, is not because I wouldn't like to. It's because I know you wouldn't like what would happen next.

"L-let's just get going, Potter. It's probably after curfew already."

Their wands were beacons of light across the passageway, stars in the emptiness of the dark underground. Their footsteps were roaring thunder. The cold stone seeming to bend to block their passage, they treaded on towards the third floor of the castle.

Once they had reached the third floor corridor, many things happened. Mrs. Norris had followed them around as they ran away from her; Moaning Myrtle stalked them just as much as Peeves; Kreacher and Dobby startled Harry as he and Daphne made their way up some unknown stairs. Suffice it to say, it was past midnight when they could catch a break. They were in the seventh floor and while Harry could go to his common room easily, Daphne could not.

"You should go, Potter. Best for only one of us to get in trouble after all of this," Daphne said as Harry lead her past a strange tapestry. Harry could see her standing a little bit too straight and playing with the hem of her coat. She kept averting her gaze and the tick he had noticed hours before had returned.

"Don't worry," Harry said as he walked back and forth.

"DON'T WORRY, POTTER? Are you out of you—" Daphne's yell died as she saw what was happening in front of her. Her eyes widened. Her lips moved but no sound came out of them. She had heard but she had not believed.

And as the door materialized on the stone wall, valor shone bright against the backdrop of Daphne's despair.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hope to hear your reviews!**

**Chapter 8**

"So this is where Umbridge caught you, right?" Daphne's words filled Harry's ears, bringing back memories of the previous year. Thinking of Grawp still brought a smile to his face even when the giant could splat him at any given chance. Before Harry's memory could dig deeper into 1995, Daphne's voice brought him back.

"I thought she had torn down the walls to get inside. At least that's how Pansy made it sound like. Did you fix it? Either way, it doesn't look like much of a good place to teach stuff," Daphne said as she looked around the place she found herself in.

Seas of tonal reds and golds decorated the room. From the banners on the walls to the love seat in front of the fireplace. Old wardrobes and high bookshelves; coffee tables and long, crimson couches; chairs and tables with old figures resting on top of them; grandfather clocks and even a set of porcelain cups. It reminded Harry of the Gryffindor common room.

He stood in the middle of the room, not really sure of what to do with his hands but fold them behind his back as Daphne walked around the Room of Requirement, taking the sights in. He had only asked for a place where they could be safe for a while and the room had given him this.

"Yes but… I mean, I didn't actually fix it with my own hands or magic for that matter," a slight pause. "Let's just say this room gives you what you want if you ask nicely enough," Harry said once Daphne had stopped walking around the room to stand in front of him. She kept glancing back at were the entrance had been and a mirrored wall now stood. The rumbling of the door's transformation would have gone unnoticed to Harry's ears had he not been waiting to hear it, as he must have done it a hundred times before.

"H-how did it—Forget it, magic," Daphne answered herself with a slight chuckle before Harry could even register a response.

"Why are we here?" Daphne asked. "I mean, I know we needed a place to hide but this," Daphne made extended both her arms to the ceiling as if praising the room. "This room looks more like a place to spend the night than to hide for a couple of minutes, Potter. Is there something I should know? Didn't know you were so fast. Maybe Chang wasn't the one to throw herself at you last year," Daphne finished by making a dramatic motion, throwing her hair behind her ear and exposing her long neck.

"W-what, I-I no, what? Do you think I'd do something like that? Why did you say that?" Harry blinked between words. His hands were shaking as he raised them to his mouth. He couldn't help but laugh nervously.

Daphne sighed and walked past Harry with a smile on her lips. She made her way towards the fireplace. Harry Potter could have sworn he had heard her whisper. He was sure she had called him cute. Pretty sure at least.

"For no reason," Daphne said once she had reached the fireplace. Glowing red runes were etched all over its corners. Harry could see her trace the symbols with her fingertips. She looked deep in thought so Harry remained quiet. He chose to seat on the ground, just behind her.

"What is this place, Potter? I had never seen it before," Daphne's voice broke the near silence of the room. The cackling coming from the fireplace had been the only other sound heard besides those made by the two of them. It gave their conversation a feeling of closeness. A deeper meaning in a way.

"It's called the Room of Requirement," Harry said as he let his head fall back onto the love seat he was half leaning on. The ceiling seemed to share the enchantment on the Great Hall. He could see right through it into the swirling blackness of the night illuminated by the blazing suns millions and millions of miles away. A starry night. Harry's favorite kind of night.

"It, as his name implies, contains anything the user may require. I asked for a place to be safe, to hide, and it gave us this." Harry extended his arms towards the ceiling before letting them fall limp to his sides.

"Isn't that kind of uncomfortable?" Daphne asked from her place near the fireplace.

"I… Well, I guess if everything you want is given to you then… It's not like someone actually lives here. I mean…," Harry said as a shaky laugh came out of his throat. He ran his hands through his hair before interlocking his fingers on back of his neck. His elbows bumped slightly. He tilted his head a little and spoke once more.

"I don't know what to say, really. You got me."

"I wasn't talking about that," Daphne said as she walked up to him. Her arms were folded behind her back, and there was a sway to the way she moved that made her hair dance around her. "Now come on, budge over and let me sit."

"On the floor?"

"Yes. The floor. Next to you? Or the loveseat. It doesn't matter either way. Come on. You can tell me more about this Room of Necessity." She folded her arms across her chest and cocked her head to the right as she waited for Harry to move on any direction.

"Requirement," Harry said as he raised himself to sit on the loveseat he had been leaning on.

"I know, Potter. Trust me. I know."

Daphne sat right beside him. The room seemed to sense the mood and, in que, got a little colder. She leaned into him. He could feel his pulse quicken and his body react to the closeness of her body. Sure, he had held her hand before and she had held onto his arms as they walked through Hogsmeade but this was different. The fireplace cackled and for a moment, all Harry could do was breathe and look up at the night stars. She smelled like lilacs and something more. It was distinctive. Acidic but sweet at the same time. Gooseberries.

"What are we going to do, Potter?"

"I don't know, Daphne. It's half past midnight. I say we wait another half an hour before I take you back to the dungeons." Harry let his head fall back. He looked up and sighed. They were there. They had always been there and always would be. The stars gave an illusion of permanence. They flared up or snuffed out but, one way or another, they were always there. He wished the moment he was living could last longer that what its named inferred.

"I guess," there was a hesitance in her voice. He wanted to ask more but was afraid his insistence would make her even more hesitant to ask the question on her mind.

"What did you teach them?" She asked after the silence had gone for too long.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. To your friends. In here."

She seated herself properly and turned to look at him. Her arm was on the back of the seat and her head was now resting on the hand of said arm. Her head was cocked slightly to the right. Always to the right. He had questions of his own but would indulge Daphne for the night. There would be other times to ask about scars.

"Well, a little bit of everything really. You'd be surprised at how ineffective can the shield charms of most students be. A few couldn't even cast an _Expelliermus_ for their lives when we first saw each other. The summoning charm was a difficult one as well. _Bombarda. _A whole ton of spells to be honest. The Room has quite an extensive selection on spell books that can't be found in the library." Or books with helpful tips scribbled all over them, thought Harry.

Daphne was calmly listening. Her eyes were closed and a smile started to spread across her face the more Harry went on. He noticed it and decided to cut to the chase.

"_The Patronus."_

Her eyes shot up at that.

"W-Were you really?"

"Yes. I couldn't really give the best classes on the subject because of… unexpected problems, but some of them could even cast a corporeal one. Now of course, casting a corporeal one while in a room with all of your friends is completely different to doing it in the presence of a Dementor. That was the problem, they didn't understand that those cute and fuzzy animals are their only defense against terrifying creatures. I guess I shouldn't be too hard on them. None of them have seen what I have so it is understandable they think the way they do as angsty as that sounds," Harry finished with a chuckle.

Daphne had waited for him to finished before she spoke. He knew what she was going to ask. He knew what his answer would be. He was going to say yes the moment the words left her lips. She didn't ask what he had expected.

"And what is it that you've seen?"

"I'm sorry?"

"What have you seen, Potter? Tell me."

The words got caught on his throat. It wasn't the time and it wasn't the place. He had talked about The TriWizard Tournament with her already. His brain raced through his memories. Trying and trying to find a safe story to tell. He couldn't bring himself up to talk about any of his so called adventure with Daphne. Not yet. He spoke the words and before he knew it, she understood.

"You know— "

"Oh. Of course. Him. How silly of me. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I mean, I guess I did but not really. Look at me, talking about how stories can affect us all day and here I am asking you to remember things you don't want to. Go, me!" One of her fist bumped the air as she said those words, an acidic hint to them. She had gradually been lowering her gaze as she talked.

Before she could go on further, Harry's hand touched her shoulder. She stopped talking and looked deep into his eyes. They smiled at each other and Harry felt his mind try to wander into hers. _Legilimency_. He had never been good at it and would never actually use it on someone he cared about but Dumbledore said, on their last session together, that he was thinking of having a more direct approach in Harry's training. Harry wasn't sure what that meant but _Legilimency_ was one of the Headmaster's fortes.

"Daphne. It's fine. Don't worry. Let's just talk about something else, okay?" without realizing it, both their heads had inched closer to one another. Harry's right hand found its way to Daphne's neck and asked the question that had been haunting him for quite some time.

"What is this? I mean, I know it's a scar. What happened? What's the story behind it?"

The blush crept up her neck al, the way to her cheeks. Harry noticed it and removed her hand from her neck. Instantly, almost involuntarily, her neck tried to make his hand hold onto it a little bit longer. At least, that's what it looked like to Harry.

"It's Europe, Potter. Didn't the muggles ever teach you anything about the world?" Daphne said as she tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear. Right there and then, Harry knew he was lost. That smile, those eyes, that nose, that ashen hair. He wanted to call it his. Oh, he knew he had fancied Daphne for a while but now it was real. It was something more. In his head at least.

"I'll have you know that they did. Even made me draw quite a few of them in my time even. I don't have as good a hand for drawing as Dean but I manage. But don't dodge the question, Daphne. Unless, of course, it is something you wish not to talk about."

"Oh it's not that, Potter. It's just that it is getting late and I think we should be leaving the room right now. Besides, I don't want you to know all my secrets quite just yet," Daphne said as she stood up from the loveseat.

Harry could barely see her face, a dark shape against the light from the fireplace. He straightened his glasses and smiled as she looked down at him before standing up himself. She took his hand on hers and started to guide him towards one side of the room before stopping to ask a question to him.

"Uhh… Where's the door, Potter?"

Harry's laugh echoed around the room. He simple gave Daphne's hand a squeeze before taking the lead and guiding them to the door of the room. It materialized instantly before their eyes. And, as it opened, Harry felt his knees go weak.

Standing in front of them was a robed figure. The robes were a dark blue and adorned with twinkling moons and stars that drifted along the fabric. He was tall and thin and very old. His long silver colored beard was tied in a fashionable way. Upon a crooked nose rested a pair of half-moon spectacles that covered light blue eyes that twinkled with kindness. Before any of the two teens could speak, Albus Dumbledore took the lead in the conversation.

"Ah, Miss Greengrass, it is good fortune that I found you while I was looking for your companion for the night," Dumbledore said as he clapped both his hands and Dobby appeared with a crack besides him.

"Harry, my dear boy, it is good to hear of your willingness to help Professor Snape find Miss Greengrass after she failed to return to her common room tonight. Dobby here was quite helpful on finding you but, my, is this floor quite some ways from the dungeons, don't you think? Dobby, could you please escort Miss Greengrass back to her common room. Oh, and do make sure to inform Professor McGonagall that Harry and I will be discussing some important business in my office for the rest of the night."

Dobby gave a weak shrug to Harry, as if apologizing for something, before bowing low and slightly pushing Daphne down the hall and towards the dungeon. It gave Harry the view that made him notice Daphne Greengrass for the first time. Dumbledore cleared his throat, making Harry realize what he was doing and in front of whom he was doing it. He blushed and followed Dumbledore as we walked in the opposite direction Dobby and Daphne had walked in.

"Professor? Am I in trouble?" Harry asked as the two of them made their way to the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore had been humming to himself a song that sounded pretty familiar to Harry. And, while the relative silence between them was nice, he wanted to know where he stood with the Headmaster.

"Of course not, Harry. If we punished every lovesick teenager on this school I'm quite afraid we would only be teaching first years. Ahh to be young again! I am afraid to tell you there are more pressing matters we must attend tonight. And if it makes you feel more comfortable, I'll deduct five points from Gryffindor."

* * *

"Professor," said Harry. "While I am not entirely sure of what we are doing here, and I do find Tom Riddle's early life to be something intriguing, I'd like to ask you something. Magic related, sir."

Dumbledore was standing near the windows. It had been a couple of hours since he had found Harry and Daphne in the seventh floor. After making sure Daphne was escorted back to the dungeons, both he and Harry had gone to his office and used his _pensieve_ to take a glimpse back to Dumbledore's first meeting with the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time. He seemed to be humming, hands folded behind his back. Harry kept talking.

"I... Well, I've been doing some research on areas that had never really picked my interest before. To be honest, sir, I'm fascinated. Magical rune systems are one of the most outstanding things I've seen since I came to Hogwarts. It mixes all the branches of magic together in such a fascinating way. I mean, Hogwarts itself functions thanks to them. I do not presume to fully understand them, not even a little bit but," Harry rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke.

"I was wondering if you had any insights into the matter. A book you could lend or perhaps some advice. You mentioned how you hoped to have a more direct approach in my training, professor, and I— Is there anything you can..." Harry stopped himself before he continued babbling.

"I do not wish to take more time than I already do from you, sir. I'm sorry."

Harry startled to shuffle his feet as Dumbledore kept looking out towards the dark night sky. It had barely been a minute when Harry decided the silence may be indirect way of asking Harry to leave. As he prepared to go back to the Gryffindor Common Room, Dumbledore turned back. Under the moon, the professor asked Harry a question.

"If you do not mind me asking, Harry. What brought these sudden interest in you? Has Miss Granger's companionship finally imprinted some of her fondness for the subject on you?" Dumbledore smiled as he walked towards the chair on his deck. He made a motion for Harry to sit as he did so. It seemed they still had somethings to discuss after all. Harry could feel himself smile, both at the memory of what had peaked his interest for the subject as well as getting to, possibly, learn something new from his mentor.

"Not quite. I actually lent a book from Daphne," Harry blushed at the raised eyebrow from Dumbledore. "From there I went to take some books on the subject out of the library and here I am."

Dumbledore smiled. "Miss Greengrass. Of course. I truly hope she is not the only reason you've come to ask for my help on this, Harry. It has come to my attention that you seem spend a great deal of time with her. I can't help but wondering..."

"I... I don't know. It's complicated." Harry answered.

"Forgive me. I was only being curious," Dumbledore said, one of his hands going to his chest as he gave a little bow. He rubbed his eyebrows and kept talking.

"Today's meeting has run its course for far longer that I had foreseen. Even taking the particular circumstances in which we encountered each other into account, Time has made fool of us again. I fear I cannot lend you my full attention this night, Harry. However, I feel this might be helpful to you," Dumbledore said as he stretched his open palm towards one of the many bookshelves in the Headmaster's office. A thick book landed in the desk. _Runes, Glyphs and Signs: An Advanced Guide with Numerous Teachings, Exercises, and Applications by Magister Dorian Galerion_

"And now, it really is time for the both of us to go to bed."

Harry got to his feet, the heavy book resting on his hands, and walked across the room. But, right before he left the room, he turned back to say his thanks to the Headmaster.

"There's is nothing to thank, my boy," Dumbledore said, a strange sadness audible in his voice. "The book you hold in your hands now, once belonged to a young wizard, such as yourself, who looked to know something he once had not.

"I'd ask you to forgive me for the notes I once wrote all over the margins but I believe they might become useful to you in the coming days. I fear we do not have the time available to us that I wish we had, Harry. Some of things I wished to impart onto you must be thought this way.

"I hope this does not last and we are able to find longer evenings in which we can discuss topics beyond those involving Tom. Magic theory, runes, wandlore, alchemy and, perhaps, help you cast the most difficult spells you might find in those notes.

"And, in regards to the unspoken question, I've contacted Alastor and Remus. They are quite eager to come aboard our extracurricular meetings and help you, shall we say, train in your spare time. I do hope Miss Greengrass does not take offense at us borrowing time that you could spend with her.

"Alas, I am but delaying your meeting with Morpheus," said Dumbledore with a smile and, with a wave of his hand, the door softly closed on Harry's face.

As Harry made his way towards his dorm room, the fleeting memory of Marvolo Gaunt's ring danced across his mind. He had not seen it resting on the little table by the door. Dismissing it as a trick of his imagination, he kept walking, too enthralled on the promise of knowledge resting on his hands to care for an old, forgotten ring.

* * *

"Why are we doing this again?" Ron asked as he rolled his twenty sided dice across the table, his Halfling Bard barely managing to avoid being hit by it

"Because it's fun, Ron. Shut up. You love this," Dean said from behind a cardboard screen that covered half his chest. Harry, Ron, Seamus and Neville could only see the top of his head over the charmed drawings that moved across the cardboard screen. They reminded Harry of the book covers of fantasy books he had seen in the library of his muggle school.

"I mean, its is but," said Neville as he lifted his fingers to his face. He was counting and scribbling numbers across the sheet Dean had owled them before the term started. "You do know that the rest of us aren't in _Arithmacy_ classes with you, right?"

"Besides, we're wizards. We live with this stuff. And some of our spells are more impressive than," Seamus said as he took a look at one of the bullet points on one of his paper sheets, "_Dancing Lights."_

"Be a Fighter then," Dean said as he placed two of their charmed figurines on the table. They were two Orcs, charmed to be as alive as Ron's chess pieces were. They moved along the grid, patrolling the dungeon the Gryffindor boy's party were raiding. They had gotten the idea out of Harry's Hungarian Horntail model and charmed some figurines Dean had bought before taking the Express. They had never looked back.

Back in August, the Gryffindor boys had woken up to character sheets and a pair of big letters detailing the rules for a tabletop game, as Dean called it. Apparently, Harry wasn't the only one who missed magic when he was in the muggle world. Dean had found a group near his old school that played Dungeons &amp; Dragons over the summer and wanted to recruit his Hogwarts frinds for his first 'adventure.' They had all agreed, hoping it would be lighthearted fun. Every Sunday, they would set up in their dorm room and not go out until Dean told them they could.

"Uhh I'm a level 5 Mage, bitch. I ain't going back to level 1," Seamus said as his female Half-elf Mage threw a spell at one of the orcs before Neville's Dwarf Cleric bashed the skull of said orc with its mace. A loud cheer ranged across the table. Ron and Harry had managed to tag team the other enemy that blocked their path and the party was allowed to move forward.

"We should probably go down for something to eat. I don't feel comfortable asking Kreacher to bring us food here, or anywhere for that matter. It could be poisoned or something." Harry said.

"Is it that or is it that you want to see your girlfriend again?" Dean asked as he took everyone's character sheets and packed them safely into one of his drawers before locking it twice. He took his Dungeon Mastering very seriously.

"She's not my girlfriend, Dean" Harry said, rolling his eyes back.

"After what you told us yesterday, she might as well be already," Ron said, a hint of pride in his voice. "I mean, even I can see that." Both him and Neville were standing on the doorway already, the promise of food filling their thoughts.

"I mean; things are going good. Real good. Sooo good," Harry said with a particular lopsided grin on his face as they walked down towards the common room. His mind conjured the image once again. She was leaning on him as the two of them looked at the crackling fireplace. Lilac and gooseberries.

"I just don't want to rush it; you know? Let it flow, that kind of stuff."

"Mate, you really should have kissed her last night," Dean said.

"Yeah, all the signals were there," Seamus continued.

"I could imagine it being a really romantic story you'll tell your kids one day, Harry," Neville added.

"What is a romantic thing to tell Harry's children?" Ginny asked as the boys were going out through the portrait hole and both her and Hermione were coming in.

"Harry's first time with Greengrass last night," Ron said as he pushed the rest of the guys out of the portrait hole and down towards the Great Hall.

The sixth year Gryffindor boys never heard the choking sobs of a bushy haired girl over the sounds of their laughs and excitement for the dungeon thy had just cleared.


End file.
